Cloak and Dagger
by crownedcrusader
Summary: Sheik has lived for years without even hearing her old name. But when the Royal Family is threatened and a bounty is put on her 'true' form, Sheik must go deeper into hiding. If not for her unlikely partnership with Link, a man hired by the king to find and protect his long-lost daughter, she might have stayed hidden forever. [Sheik is Zelda]
1. Chapter 1

" _Impa?"_

 _The elderly woman smiled, eyes crinkling as the little princess approached her. Zelda, not much older than ten, hurried up to Impa's bedside as the Sheikah woman turned her way. "What is it, my dear? Is something the matter?"_

 _Zelda stared up at her guardian with big blue eyes—eyes that were quickly filling with tears. Her voice warbled as she finally found the courage to speak. "No… It's… I'm just—I'm gonna miss you."_

 _Zelda's tearful expression caught the old woman off guard, but Impa responded quickly. Her wrinkled hands shook as they came to rest on the sides of the princess's face, but her expression was kind, and Zelda put her hands over the top of Impa's. "I'll always be in your heart, Zelda," she said softly. "You needn't worry. I won't leave you on your own." Impa pulled away to cough, her chest heaving with the heaviness of her coughs. Once she was finished, she managed a smile once more and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Zelda's hair. "If I could stay with you, I would."_

" _But you can't," Zelda said. Her big blue eyes were so sad that Impa felt her heart break to leave this little one alone, but she knew she couldn't outmatch death. Zelda looked down, bottom lip trembling as she spoke. "Do… do you really want m-me to go back to the castle…?"_

 _Impa nodded, giving the girl a light squeeze of a hug. "I want you to try, darling. I can't promise that they'll accept you, but—"_

" _But I have to try anyways." The little princess sighed, looking more lost and forlorn than Impa had ever seen her—even more so than the night they had fled the castle together. Though it had been years and years ago, Impa remembered it well; the sight of the princess, scared, confused, and worried, was one that had stuck with her. But goddesses bless her, she had tried to be brave then, and she was trying even harder now. "I understand, Impa. I'll do my best."_

" _That's all I can ask for, little one," Impa said softly, her aged hands shaking as she combed them through Zelda's hair. "Have faith."_

* * *

Sheik dropped onto the rooftop of Kakariko Village, grateful that this house had been abandoned for decades so she didn't have to muffle her fall. And because it was abandoned, she knew she could seek refuge within it, if just for the night.

After successfully swiping valuable jewels from a wealthy but lesser-known noble just hours ago, Sheik knew she couldn't linger. Though it was her crimes that had spurred her to leave, her hatred for Castle Town had driven her to leave nearly as much as the giveaway jewels she'd stolen. At least Kakariko was close; she could rest here for the night before moving on.

Still, as she dropped into the abandoned house on the far side of the village, she couldn't help but feel a bit homesick.

Once, she might have felt homesick for this very village, but in the years that had passed since leaving this place, she'd come to consider the far-off provinces in Lanayru her home. While she lacked an actual house, there were plenty of taverns that had served the same purpose. Sheik visited frequently enough that they may as well have been secondary homes.

It was hard to feel that she _lacked_ a house, anyways, since she'd been living a nomadic lifestyle for so long.

After all, she had the sky above Lanayru, and the earth beneath her feet, and her well-worn Sheikah warrior ensemble. They were with her wherever she went, and they were home enough for her.

Still, as she settled onto the creaking wood floor of the abandoned home, Sheik couldn't help but long for _something_. Maybe because she'd been away from Lanayru province for weeks now, or maybe because the home she had grown up in was just a few minutes' walk to the other side of the village. Either way, her heart ached for something she couldn't quite place, and she had to restrain herself from getting up and investigating her childhood home.

After all, it would be too risky to check it out—especially not tonight. There was a chance that someone else was living there, now, and Sheik knew that they wouldn't be happy to have a thief as a visitor.

So she sighed and laid down on that creaky, hardwood floor, and slept till dawn.

* * *

When morning came, it came with the voices of soldiers. And Sheik, trained since she was small to hide and stay under cover, quickly found a space in the rafters where she could stay hidden. But from this vantage point, the voices were all the more prominent, and Sheik couldn't help but listen in on them as she waited for them to leave.

"Sir, there's no sign of the thief."

There was a heavy sigh, and Sheik waited with baited breath, hoping against hope that they were somehow talking about someone else. After all, if they were looking here, then they already knew of her crimes, which she'd been hoping they hadn't found out about yet. She'd been careful, sure, but the best way to avoid being caught for a crime was for no one to even realize one had been committed.

"Those jewels were worth a fortune," one soldier said, and Sheik guessed from the authoritative tone that it was a higher rank than the one who had spoken first. "I doubt the thief would stay here for long. He must have fled the scene."

Sheik took note immediately. They assumed, as usual, that the thief was a man. Well, that was just fine with her—she was happy to let them go on with that assumption. Once they got a closer look at her, it was hard to mistake her as anything other than a woman, and she could use that as an advantage if they ever found her.

No one had _seen_ her steal anything, anyways—so the soldiers were flying blind regardless. But still, it didn't hurt to play into what they weren't expecting.

"Well," the higher-up soldier continued. "It seems we won't be finding the thief anywhere around here. Tomorrow morning, we make for Lanayru. Our orders are to continue onward to the desert."

"…Sir?"

"Gather the troops. Tell them to get rations from throughout the village. After today, we'll be heading to the west."

The troops departed shortly afterwards, and Sheik waited for the footsteps to be some distance away before she finally moved from her hiding place. Knowing that they were looking for her, now, meant that she had to tread carefully. Either she had to stick around for the next day or so until the troops left, or she could leave while they were in the chaotic process of gathering supplies for their trip.

The last thing she wanted was to stick around this abandoned old house, so she was quick to slip up into the rafters of the house, and out the chimney.

The sky outside was light, but still dark enough to cloak one faux-Sheikah as she slipped away into the horizon. Maybe later she could steal a horse and be on her way, but for now, she had to play it safe till she got to Lanayru. It was bad luck that she was headed the same way as the soldiers, but the only pawn store she trusted was in Solen, and the goddesses only knew she couldn't sell it any closer than that considering it came from Kakariko.

No, Sheik would just have to make it to Solen and pray that no one had heard of the missing jewels from Castle Town. Till then, she could only hope.

* * *

It was a hard three days' journey to Solen, even when she'd managed to steal a horse, but she couldn't get away from Kakariko fast enough. Though the army was on foot, Sheik wanted as big of a head start as she could get. They'd said they were no longer looking first and foremost for the thief, but that didn't mean they wouldn't hesitate to catch her and turn her in if they saw her.

She needed to pawn the jewels, and fast.

So when she finally arrived in Solen—tired, sore, and starving—her first stop was to her favorite pawn shop. This was the only one in town that had a firm 'no questions asked' policy—and because Sheik had traveled so fast and so far, there would be no reason to change that policy now. There would be no news about a theft all the way over in Kakariko—not yet, anyways.

Sheik took advantage of that head start while she could, and she hadn't been in Solen longer than an hour before she'd left the jewels at the shop and walked out of the store with several orange and purple rupees. She might have asked for gold rupees for the ease of carrying, years ago, but few people had change for gold rupees, and even when they did, people got suspicious when a nomad was carrying so many large rupees all at once. She knew better than to draw suspicion if she could help it.

So she pocketed her winnings and headed outside. Later today, she'd have to head out to the next city, lest the shop owner rat her out as the one who'd turned in the jewels, but for now, she had enough time to rest, to eat, and most importantly, to _bathe_ before she headed out again.

Perhaps if she'd never insisted on such a head start, and never decided to pawn the goods just as soon as she entered Solen, Sheik might never have met the boy in the alleyway.

Sheik made her way through the streets of Solen, searching for a cheap inn or tavern to stay at. Anything with a bath and a hot meal would do—she just needed to get clean, get rested, and eat before hurrying back onto the road. By the time she woke, it would likely be dark, and she'd be able to make her move with the cover of night.

She was counting on it, really.

But as she passed by alleyway after alleyway in pursuit of an inn, she couldn't help but hear the sound of flesh hitting concrete some streets down. It was a quiet time of the afternoon, but whoever it was, they weren't trying to be quiet about their fight.

As Sheik got closer, she soon discovered why.

Royal Guards stood guard around the alleyway, but even as two blocked the path, she could just barely see three more behind them, as well as their victim.

Sheik couldn't see their victim well enough to tell their age, their appearance—or even their gender, though the groans of pain certainly sounded masculine. She could tell enough from the scene, though, that they were hitting him, and hard. His head seemed to be the primary target, but she saw a particularly forceful kick go to the man's stomach.

That much force to someone's diaphragm could permanently ruin their ability to breathe, Sheik realized, anger setting in. She didn't even want to think about what might happen to this man if they kicked him there again.

Still, she watched in silence, wondering whether or not to get involved. Though she knew how to fight, she tended to avoid brawls, if just to avoid drawing attention to herself. But could she really just stand by as Royal Guards surrounded this man and brutalized him?

If they continued much longer, she had no doubt that they'd end up killing him.

Logically, Sheik knew she should pass the scene by.

It was risky enough to be here in the town she'd pawned her stolen jewels—especially knowing that the Hyrulean Army might be just a day behind her.

To cause trouble with the Royal Guards might well be suicide. If they found the money on her, and if they found out where she'd gotten it, she'd be sentenced to jail or worse. Sheik had been an outlaw for years, and the cause of more than a dozen high-value heists, and dozens of smaller-value ones. It was possible they'd be able to trace her back to those, too.

But these were _Royal_ Guards.

 _Three of them_ , beating a man senseless.

Sheik hated Royal Guards enough as it was—but to see their brutality, their unwavering loyalty to a crown that didn't care about its citizens, their willingness to perform acts of cruelty without even _questioning_ it—

Sheik allowed her impulses, her anger, to get the best of her. She vaulted the building beside the alley in seconds.

It was with practiced grace that she dropped down onto the ground below, separating the guards with a flying kick from the man they had been beating.

The element of surprise was the only thing separating her from failure, so Sheik capitalized on it as much as she could. Her knives were her primary weapons, but for this, she decided to use blunt force before she resorted to weaponry. Weaponry killed, after all, and the last thing she wanted was the murder of a Royal Guard on her list of crimes, no matter how much they angered her.

But goddesses, it made her angry to see them ganging up on one single man.

Once all the guards had fled the scene—possibly for more backup—Sheik was quick to pull the man's arm over her shoulders. He was shorter than her, though just as thick with muscle. It wasn't easy to carry him, but Sheik knew she had to act fast, so she hurried on down the road.

If her knowledge of Solen was correct, she could find an inn just past this street. It wasn't the one she wanted to stay at, but then, it might be better to buy a separate room for herself.

If the guards caught either of them, it would be bad enough, but it would be even worse if she was caught _with_ him. Then neither of them would have a chance to escape.

So she hurried into the building, slapping more than ample payment for a single room. The innkeep didn't question her hurry—or either of their appearances—and instead just directed them to a spare room up in the topmost floor.

Fortunately, she didn't linger past that. The innkeep was quick to hurry back to the front desk, and Sheik couldn't be happier to be alone.

She kicked shut the door behind her, then dropped the man on the bed.

Though she tried to be gentle, she was more than a little winded from having to carry him through the streets and up a flight of steps. After all, the man wasn't light by any means—if anything, his build reminded him of her own.

Sheik glanced at the window, half tempted to leave already. But with a minute to spare and with how beat-up the man appeared, she decided to let curiosity overtake her, just this once.

It was hard to tell with all the blood, but the man she'd saved seemed to be fair-skinned and light-haired, though tanned and dirty. He was likely a rogue, Sheik decided—maybe even a thief like her. His musculature made him look like a fighter, which explained why he'd lasted as long as he had. In a five on one fight—and with no weapons on him—Sheik supposed he'd done well not to have been killed.

The closer she examined him, the more she found that she sympathized with him. After all, most outlaws had similar stories. Pushed into a life on the run, probably had no family to speak of. Had he stolen something, she wondered, or had he hurt someone? Had the guards been trying to arrest him?

Royal Guards rarely attacked people without reason, after all. Their brutality was a rare sight, so for five of them to have gone on hurting him even after he was knocked out…

Sheik wondered for the first time if she was harboring a fugitive.

But despite that, Sheik didn't regret her choice.

Royal Guards left a bad taste in her mouth. In her eyes, their aggression was usually unwarranted, and though it was clear this man had put up a fight before she'd arrived, by the time she'd gotten there, they'd been hurting him for no reason at all. He'd already passed out by the time Sheik saved him—if she hadn't intervened, who knew what might have become of him.

Even now, he was unconscious on the bed, bleeding—though nothing was so deep that she was worried for his life. It was his head and torso injuries she was most worried about. Concussions were dangerous, and she knew they'd been targeting his head and chest most. Between the damage to his head and diaphragm, Sheik wasn't completely sure if he'd live to see tomorrow morning.

But she'd done her work. At least now he had a _chance_.

Sheik started to head to the window—and goddesses damn it, had the innkeep _purposefully_ led her to the topmost floor?—wondering about the best way down. But before she could drop out and make her getaway, the man on the bed started to stir.

Frozen in place, Sheik watched as he sat up, hissing in pain as he managed an upright position.

He hadn't noticed her, not yet, but Sheik watched as he slowly oriented himself. She watched the confusion on his face grow, watched his brows furrow as he looked around the unfamiliar room. It was no surprise—he'd been unconscious while she'd moved him—and even if he hadn't been, she'd brought him here too quickly for him to have adjusted already.

But within seconds, he seemed to remember the guards. His first reaction was to stand—but Sheik was too quick for him.

"Stay in bed," she said, keeping her voice a few octaves deeper than normal. "You're injured."

The man startled—seeming to only then realize he wasn't the only one in the room—and was on his feet in an instant. He was too beaten up for his legs to hold him, though, and Sheik watched as he was forced to support himself on the nightstand lest he crumple to the ground.

In a flash, Sheik was by his side, helping him back onto his feet and then right back into bed. It was clear that this man wouldn't be able to leave any time soon—but Sheik needed to go. If she didn't find an inn of her own in the next hour, she'd have to just leave on horseback, forgoing what little rest she might have gotten today. And she'd rather not set out while sleep-deprived.

So she stood over him, eyes unflinching as he stared up at her in bleary confusion.

"Stay in bed," she repeated. "Or I'll have saved you for nothing. Understood?"

Finally the man nodded, though he still seemed a mite confused. Sheik gave a quick nod of approval, then pulled out a roll of bandages from an outer pocket.

"Use these when you're well enough. You're bleeding now, but nothing is deep enough to kill you, unless they get infected. Ask the innkeep for some ice for that bruising, though. I'm sure she'll come up here eventually to check on you."

Without another word, Sheik made for the window again. It felt wrong, somehow, to leave this man here when she'd gone through such effort to save him, but she was in too much of a rush—too risky of a situation—to linger any longer than she already had.

Ignoring the man's strangled "Wait!" Sheik dropped onto the roof of the next inn over. It was risky—far, far too risky—to be jumping the rooftops at this time of day, especially when there were people searching for her, but three stories was too far for her to safely jump. And the last thing she wanted was to leave through the door after such a suspicious entrance.

It didn't strike her till she'd made her way back to the ground and started towards a different inn, though, that she didn't even know the man's name.

Of course he didn't know hers, either, and Sheik didn't really _need_ his name, as she had no plans of seeking him out later. It was probably better this way anyways. For all Sheik knew, she'd saved a murderer, not just a petty criminal. Though she didn't regret her decision—even murderers deserved a fair trial—she decided that the less she knew about this man, the better.

So she pulled her cowl up, set down ample rupees for a day's stay at an inn half across town, and took care of what she'd come to do.

Late that night, she'd set out south, in the direction of Ordon Province, and stay at one of the smaller towns along the way. Ecchar, maybe. It was large enough that a masked, androgynous figure wouldn't be too out of place, and far enough from Castle Town and Lanayru that she would be safe from the Royal Guards after her.

Sheik bathed far faster than she would have preferred, but once she was clean, she didn't have enough energy to seek out food. Instead, she fell face-first onto her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

She didn't wake till it was long since dark outside.

The road to Ecchar was long, and tiring, and there wasn't much to see with the moon and stars being her only light in the dark. With such a tedious road ahead, Sheik had plenty of time to think. And, with so much time on her hands, she couldn't help but wonder just who that boy was.

Though she wasn't going to stick around to investigate, she was curious. The guards had scattered so quickly, and they'd given no pursuit when she'd grabbed the man and run. It was downright strange that they hadn't followed them, even if they had been startled.

Why had the soldiers hurt him in the first place? And why so excessively?

And more importantly, why had they been so willing to let her defend him and run off with him?

A bad feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as she journeyed towards Ecchar. But as bad of an idea as it might have been, what was done was done. And for what it was worth, Sheik didn't regret it.

The Royal Guards could stand to be knocked down a few pegs, anyways.

After what the Royal Family had done to her, Sheik had no patience for people who would serve them so blindly.

* * *

 **Edited 3/17/2016 – fixed some of the grammar and made this less of a pain to read.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please follow and** _ **review**_ **! This will hopefully be updated fairly often, as it's a tentative NaNoRiMo project, but hey, reviews keep me motivated. Happy reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ecchar was easily the least pleasant town Sheik had ever stayed in.

The sewers stunk up the streets, there was trash everywhere, and every alley she passed by, she swore she could feel someone seedy waiting just behind the dumpsters.

In cities like these, Sheik was glad that her Sheikah ensemble made her look masculine. Terrible things happened to women in towns like these, after all. While she was happy to step in and prevent such things from happening where she could, she only had one body—and goddesses help her if her true form was ever found in this city.

To be found out as not only a Hylian, but a woman… Sheik shuddered at the mere thought.

No, she was happy enough to keep her red eyes and masculine ensemble. Even if her chest ached some days from the binding, and the glamour over her eyes gave her a headache some days, she was glad to have created this identity. _Especially_ in towns like Ecchar.

She'd found a few halfway decent taverns, of course, and she was doing well for herself with the money she'd gotten from those stolen jewels, especially since Ecchar was so cheap to live in. But all the same, she'd be glad to move on just as soon as she could.

But the Hyrulean Army was heading for the desert, and they were well on their way there now. If Sheik tried to head back to Lanayru Province now, it was likely that she'd be found and captured. So she had to wait, and wait, and wait, until she was absolutely, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt, entirely sure that they'd passed through to the desert.

Why they were heading to the desert at all was beyond Sheik—Hyrule was at peace, last she'd checked, and sending an army into a peaceful, long-abandoned wasteland didn't seem like a plan anyone but a total fool would make.

But then again, the Royal Family was full of fools, so Sheik wasn't surprised.

She just hated that she had to be inconvenienced by the foolish decisions of the ruling class.

So she spent her days and nights in Ecchar, roaming the streets. There wasn't much to do in a town as small and poor as this, and Sheik didn't have the luxury of visiting friends here. She knew no one—and she was happy enough to keep it that way, all things considered. The woman who ran the tavern she'd mostly stayed at was decent enough, Sheik supposed, but she didn't trust her with much other than cheap meals and a clean bed.

No, the only true company Sheik kept while staying here were the alley cats.

Children of the street had to stick together, after all.

Late her second night in Ecchar, though, Sheik tensed as she heard a cry from a few alleys over. The cats hardly stirred, and Sheik supposed they had to be used to it by now—but Sheik wouldn't allow herself to become used to it.

Sheik climbed up the ladder connecting the alley to the roof, then leapt from rooftop to rooftop till she found the source of the scream.

A young woman stood just a story beneath her feet, clutching her purse as a man twice her size closed in on her. Sheik wasn't sure if it was her purse the man was after, or the young woman herself. Either way, this was a scene she didn't want to see the end of. So she jumped.

The man came down with the force of her kick, the sickening crunch of bone intermingling with the sound of his heavy body hitting the ground. Sheik leapt off of him at once, not wanting to stick around to see if he'd been knocked out or just stunned. The young woman seemed to feel the same, and she ran beside Sheik all the way back to Sheik's inn.

Though Sheik wanted to ask the woman if she was alright, she knew that her voice might give her away as a woman—and after what she'd just done, it was better that she didn't reveal herself until they were safe inside.

Once they'd reached the inn, Sheik caught her breath and gestured for the woman to make herself comfortable at one of the table sets in the front entrance. While she got herself seated, Sheik made her way to the front desk, coming back with tea and ignoring the overly amused smile of the innkeeper.

Of course this wasn't a _date_ —she'd saved this woman from being assaulted. The last thing she wanted to do was to make her feel uncomfortable or pressured into _anything_ , let alone a date. So she ignored the innkeeper, grateful that her mask and scarf hid most of her facial expression, lest her irritation become obvious.

It was hard to be too irritated, though, as the woman before her still seemed so upset. Sheik wanted nothing more than to dismember the man who'd attacked her, but it would be too risky to go around picking fights.

Rescues were one thing—especially when she had the element of surprise. But if she went around looking for a fight, she knew she'd find one, and she had a feeling that the results wouldn't be pretty.

So she contented herself with sitting with this woman for now, and drinking tea.

Sheik had just started to relax when the woman across from her finally spoke.

"I'm Ilia," she said, fingertips pressed tight against her cup. Her eyes were trained on the table, and Sheik wished she could comfort her enough for her to raise them. But she supposed anyone would feel guarded after being cornered in the dead of night. Still, as she spoke, her voice was clear, and Sheik knew that she was trying to be brave. "May I… know the name of my rescuer?"

"It's Sheik. Pleasure to meet you, Ilia." Sheik watched as Ilia's head whipped up, suddenly, and she tried not to feel too scrutinized as the woman looked her up and down, clearly checking over her physical form.

However, Ilia must have realized that she was staring, because she suddenly looked back down into her cup. "My—my apologies, Sheik," she said softly. "I just didn't expect…"

"It kept him from coming after us," Sheik said, shrugging a shoulder. "We ought to get you home, though. Where do you live?"

It felt strange, somehow, to ask this girl where she _lived_ —expecting there to be a defined answer, and knowing that there probably would be. Perhaps Sheik had just been on the move for too long, but she felt a bit odd to think that she was the strange one for _not_ having a place to call home.

But, she had the sky, and the earth, and her inherited Sheikah ensemble.

Sheik beat away the homesickness (for a home she'd never had, nonetheless) and retrained her eyes on Ilia.

"Just a few streets down from here. I… I'm sure I can find my way if I look."

The young woman seemed ready to go, and Sheik didn't want to keep her away from home any longer than necessary. By now, the man had probably already left if he was conscious, so there was no need to hide any longer. Plus, Sheik would be with her—there was no way she'd let her walk home alone after what had happened.

"I'll stay with you till you're inside," Sheik said, voice soft, but she had long since lost a sense of comforting others; if anything, it sounded authoritative. Ilia just looked relieved that someone was coming with her, though, and she didn't protest, standing and starting for the door with her.

Their conversation died as they walked through the dark of the night. On the streets, conversation felt like a threat-Sheik didn't want her voice to give her away. It was all well and good when people assumed it was a man walking this young woman home, but it was different when they merely saw another woman walking beside her. Sheik knew of some criminals who merely viewed two women as a bonus—that they could be easily subdued for double the profit.

Sheik gritted her teeth at the mere thought, brows drawing together in her irritation. At least the face she was making would scare away potential assailants, she thought, though it didn't change the hot bubble of anger in her stomach. More than other thieves, more than thugs, even more than the Royal Guard, she _hated_ men who targeted women. As far as she was concerned, they were less than the trash lining Ecchar's steets.

 _They're nothing more than the sewer water below_ , Sheik thought, as she and Ilia passed by a particularly pungent sewage drain.

But Ilia had meant it when she said that her home wasn't far; no sooner than they'd turned a few corners had she stopped in front of a small apartment.

"This is it," she said as she got out her keys. "Thank you for walking with me, Sheik. I…" She gulped, shaking her head. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come. I appreciate it."

Sheik merely nodded, glancing over the streets to ensure no one had followed them. It seemed empty enough, but Sheik knew she wouldn't be able to rest easy tonight unless she'd looked through the streets on her own, checking to see that the man who'd attacked Ilia hadn't found out where she lived.

Once the door was open, Ilia slipped inside, but just through the crack of the door, she grabbed Sheik by the hand, pulling her close to whisper. "Be safe. I know you're easily mistaken for a man, but it's not safe for young women at night anymore. They're looking for anyone our age—especially if they have blonde hair and blue eyes."

Before Sheik could even think to ask her about such a cryptic statement, though, Ilia released her hand and clicked the door shut.

It was, by far, the strangest encounter she'd had while staying in Ecchar.

But Sheik couldn't linger—not while there was still the potential of drawing attention to where Ilia lived—so she hurried back down the streets, checking every corner for the man who'd assaulted Ilia.

There was no sign of him, not even after she'd checked nearly a half-mile radius of the scene of the crime, but Sheik had a feeling that this wasn't the last she'd seen of him. Or, at least, this wasn't the last she'd seen of men like him.

As Sheik finally dropped into her temporary bed, she couldn't help but replay Ilia's words over and over in her head. There was something strange about them, though Sheik wanted to believe it was just a strange preference in assailants these days.

' _They're looking for anyone our age—especially if they have blonde hair and blue eyes.'_

Why the emphasis on hair and eyes? She could understand age—most young women in early adulthood were prized for their beauty, and were old enough that they no longer appeared as children—but were rarely trained to defend themselves.

But why the preference on hair and eyes?

Sheik furrowed her brows, staring up at the ceiling. Most Hylians had dark hair and darker eyes; perhaps they were just interested in the rarity of those they stole or assailed?

A victim was a victim, though; hair and eyes shouldn't have mattered so much…

Unless the criminals were _looking_ for someone.

As Sheik stared up into the darkness, she thanked the goddesses for the magic that had altered her blue eyes. Red had always suited her more, she found—and now it seemed that they served as a protection.

A protection from _what_ , she could only guess.

But she knew she had found yet another reason to be thankful for Impa. Protecting her, even beyond the grave…

* * *

A week passed, and Sheik didn't see Ilia once. That night had been the first time she'd seen her, of course, but with the circumstances, Sheik couldn't help but be concerned.

Despite her concern, though, and as much as she wanted to stay and make sure that Ilia was safe, she couldn't stay in Ecchar. Lanayru was calling, and Sheik knew she'd stayed in this town for too long. The Royal Soldiers sometimes did patrols of this area, too, considering its high crime rate and low quality of living—and every time they did a patrol, they always turned up a few criminals.

The odds of being found were still low, of course—and lower than most other towns, considering the sheer amount of criminals that sought refuge here.

But Lanayru was as close to home as Sheik could get, and she hardly wanted to push her luck by staying in Ecchar longer than she had to.

Part of Sheik wanted to visit Solen again, for the sake of it—but at least five soldiers knew of her, thanks to her stint in saving that boy.

She still didn't regret her choice in saving him, of course. Sure, it would make things difficult next time she was in Solen to pawn something (and she might even need to start pawning her goods elsewhere), but it would have been a waste of a life to not step in.

No one deserved to be beaten to death without a trial, no matter the crime.

And Sheik didn't know why, but she there was a strong, almost instinctive, feeling that she had done the right thing, saving him. But as much as she'd wanted to check on him and make sure he was still breathing, Solen was just too dangerous for her to visit without reason.

And yet, as she mapped out her route back through Lanayru, her hand hovered over Solen. Her final destination, Ardock, was almost a week's trip from Ecchar. And Solen was directly between them.

It would be a good chance to refresh her supplies, she knew—and it was always better to check sooner rather than later if her goods had been spotted and the pawn-broker had found out that she'd sold him stolen goods. After all, later she might be in a bind and have new stolen goods on her—and where would that leave her, if he recognized her as a criminal?

And, if she just happened to be in the neighborhood, there was no reason not to look for the boy she'd saved—just so long as he didn't hold up her travels.

Still, even finding him in a large town like Solen would be difficult—and who was to say he'd even be there? If he had any sense, he would have left just as soon as he was healed.

The guards had nearly killed him, after all—who knew what they'd do to him if they found him again?

A strange protective urge—similar to what made her wish to stay in Ecchar to look for Ilia—rose up in her, and after some hesitation, she finally put a notch on Solen.

It wouldn't hurt to stay for a day or so, would it?

She had to restock her supplies anyways, before she finished the trek to Ardock.

Surely it wouldn't hurt to check in on the boy?

* * *

On the way back to Solen, Sheik purchased a horse, for once, spending a fair amount of rupees on it. But it would be better than stealing them and constantly letting them go again, and the last thing she wanted was to continually add horses to her ever-growing list of thefts. At this point, she had lost track of what all she'd stolen—and it wasn't as if she could just write everything down to refresh her memory.

Really, if she was caught with that list, how would she explain it?

'Sorry, soldiers, I was just trying to catch the thief that had stolen all these things—and I somehow knew that it was this one particular thief that had been behind all of them.'

Right—very realistic.

So she did her best to just remember the ones she planned to return—like horses and clothes. Those she often stole from the middle and poor classes, and the last thing she wanted was to leave them even poorer.

If she couldn't return their clothes or horses, she tended to leave a satchel of rupees on their doorstep late at night, with a short note of explanation.

It wasn't much, but it always at least replaced what she'd stolen, more or less.

Still… Now that she'd paid so much for a horse, and lived in Ecchar taverns for over a week, Sheik's money was starting to dwindle. She'd have to take up odd jobs up in Ardock if she wanted to keep from going under.

She'd gone hungry before—she'd done _awful_ jobs when she was starving before—but if she could avoid it, then she was happy to.

Perhaps she could work at a tavern in Solen—be hired help for a few days till she moved on. It would give her the funds to restock and not feel so scrapped for cash. Maybe she could even invest in some blankets for winter.

Lanayru was cool in these summer and autumn months, but once winter crept closer, Sheik's Sheikah ensemble wasn't much for keeping her warm.

No, the more blankets she could stock up on, the better—especially since she couldn't hide out on Hyrule Field anymore in the winters. Soldiers crossed it so often these days that Sheik knew it would be suicide to try to stay there. And Kakariko village was far too close to Castle Town…

Perhaps the Gorons would allow her to take refuge in the winter. Though Death Mountain was a mountain, and thus higher in elevation, it was still warm due to the volcanic activity in the area. Even if the Gorons didn't want her, there was really nothing keeping her from staying nearby anyways, so long as she kept a low profile.

It was a bit lonely, if she stopped and thought about it, how little of a plan she had for the rest of her life. When she'd just been a child, things were so much simpler. She didn't have to choose where to go and how long to stay—and while she'd had to stay hidden from the public eye, she'd never been on the run like this.

She'd had a home, and someone to take care of her.

It wouldn't do to dwell on it, though—there was nowhere she could stay now. She was an outlaw and a thief, and had been posing as a true Sheikah for years, despite only being _raised_ by one. There was nowhere she could call home anymore—except for the sky above her, and the grass beneath her feet, and the last memories of her guardian around her.

 _And that,_ she sharply reminded herself, _was enough for anyone to call home._

* * *

Solen was darker than she remembered.

Though it had only been a little over a week, there was a _presence_ hanging over the town, and Sheik hesitated as she tethered her horse to the outskirts of the town.

There were clouds overhead, which wasn't strange in itself—but the people walked with their heads further down than she remembered, and there was no longer the sound of children scurrying about in the late afternoon.

It was a three day trip from Solen to Ecchar, and a three day trip from Kakariko and Castle Town to Solen—and she'd spent a week at Ecchar.

Was it possible that something had happened in Castle Town and she hadn't heard about it yet?

More than anywhere else, Castle Town was the town that caused the most grief for the rest of Hyrule. The King and Queen would make decrees, and Castle Town would enforce it and send out ambassadors to the rest of Hyrule—and then every other town, city, and village would have to abide by those decrees, even if the Royal Family hadn't cared a whit about how it would affect the rest of Hyrule.

Not to mention the soldiers must have stayed in this town on their way to the Desert…

Sheik frowned, considering the possibilities.

No one was particularly happy when the army came and stayed in the taverns and even the homes in the town. Though the lower ranking soldiers set up camp outside the city, the higher-ups weren't fond of staying anywhere so common. While they wouldn't eject people from their homes, they had no problem demanding a spare bedroom for themselves.

It was a frustrating ordeal for everyone involved—and even more frustrating when Hyrule wasn't even at war.

So what in the goddess' name had prompted the Hyrulean Army to march towards the Gerudo Desert in the first place?

It was abandoned—a wasteland! The only thing out there was the Arbiter's Grounds, and it hadn't even been _visited_ for nearly a hundred years—and a passage to the desert had only been rediscovered fifty years ago.

There was _no one_ in the desert anymore—only the memory of the once proud Gerudo Tribe, and they'd been vanished away for centuries.

Sheik shook her head, trying not to dwell on it. All she knew was that she didn't have a good feeling about the troops heading to the desert. Whether they were training, or conquering new land, or fighting some unknown force, it was always a bad idea to have your army far away from the land they were supposed to be protecting.

Despite being a criminal herself, Sheik couldn't help but wonder—

Would the people here be safe now that so many in the force had left to the desert?

Normally it was the soldiers and the Royal Guard that caught criminals and kept the streets safe. They'd never done a perfect job, and had often been a brutal force against criminals, but without them, it would be free reign.

Sheik knew she ought to be celebrating. There would be almost no threat of punishment even if she was caught for stealing. Not to mention, pawning stolen goods would become far less worrisome if no one cared to turn her in. With so much other criminal activity that went unpunished, no one would even care if she turned in obviously stolen property.

She could easily make several thousand rupees every week, if she wanted.

And yet, for all her relief at a lower chance of being caught, she felt bad at the mere thought of taking advantage of this opportunity. It left a bad taste in her mouth as she thought how the city might be affected. Though she tried to only steal from those that wouldn't miss it, she would still be among the thieves this city would live in fear of.

And that was someone she didn't want to be.

She'd just have to try to find a job, then—either here or in Ardock. One way or another, she had to survive—and she was willing to do whatever she needed in order to survive—but if she could do it honestly, she'd like to.

It was just that places rarely would hire a Sheikah, and Sheik wasn't going to ditch her disguise just because people felt threatened by a Sheikah warrior ensemble. It was all she had left of Impa—and she wanted nothing more than to make her guardian proud.

And she knew that her guardian would understand if she had to keep doing what she had to in order to survive.

Lost in thought as she weighed the possibilities of a real job, Sheik stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sound of flesh hitting concrete just an alleyway down.

"I already _told_ you," someone was saying, his voice strained as if he was having trouble breathing. " _I didn't do anything_!"

Sheik was quick to react, light on her feet as she climbed up the short building next to the alleyway. From her vantage point, she saw a small gang of men, as well as their victim. Two of the gang were but a few years older than her, and one was old enough to be her father—perhaps this was a family affair? Sheik couldn't see their faces well enough to tell, but all were dark haired and tall.

The man they were ganging up on had fair hair and was short, though, marking him as an outsider. And though he was fair skinned, he was tanned and dirty—

And his face, Sheik realized, was eerily familiar, though she almost didn't recognize it without blood on it.

"I don't care what ye say," the oldest man said, approaching his victim with a long metal rod. "My daughter's gone missin', and yer the only one who's been lookin' for a blonde haired blue eyed girl in this area. I've heard yeh, askin' about in taverns, constan'ly double-checkin' at inns—where'd you take my daughter once yeh found her?!"

"I didn't take your daughter!" the fair haired man said. "I swear to the goddesses I didn't! I don't know you, or her—I swear! I'm looking for someone, yeah, but I wouldn't kidnap anyone!"

"'s what a kidnapper would say," one of the younger men said, and Sheik noticed, a little worried, the knife in his hand. The other man appeared unarmed, but that was a small comfort considering he looked the strongest of the bunch.

Sheik gulped, staring down at the scene before her.

Though she had no idea what the situation was, and she wasn't sure who to trust—the man with the missing daughter, or the one promising that he wasn't the one who'd taken her—she knew that she hadn't saved that man's life for nothing. And there was that feeling again, that protective instinct, and the feeling that saving him was the right thing to do.

So she turned off her doubts and dropped to the ground below.

This time, she didn't aim to take anyone out with her landing. Instead, she hoped to resolve this without violence, so long as no one started any violence.

So she stood in front of the man they were targeting—shorter than her, she remembered, and hunched over, looking like he was having a hard time breathing. Either he'd been hurt recently, or he was still healing from the damage done to him just over a week ago. Either was likely.

"Drop your weapons," Sheik said, red eyes flashing in the light as she stared down the group. "If you have a quarrel with this man, take him to a court. But if you're targeting him here rather than taking him to a court, then you're either foolish, or have no real proof against him." She stood taller, relishing her strong stance as the group took an instinctive step back. "And I'm not overly fond of those who would take revenge on someone without proof."

There was a beat, then a clatter as the younger man with the knife dropped it and turned away. His brother followed his lead, and in seconds, the youngest of the gang had cleared out—the older man, likely their father, followed close behind him.

In seconds, the alley was cleared, save for Sheik and the man she'd saved _again_.

Sheik just hoped that it was worth it, saving him twice. But she had a feeling—strange, and deep within her—that somehow, she'd made the right decision.

"Funny how we keep meeting like this," Sheik said, attempting to lighten the mood as she offered a hand to the man. His nose was bleeding, she realized—and she found it was likely that the group she just found him with had been the ones to deal out his injury. There were bruises on his face of varying shades, and a cut she remembered from last time she'd seen him, along with a twin along the side of his jaw. Sheik couldn't help but wonder: was this a regular occurrence for him?

The man eyed her warily for a moment, but after being saved by her twice, he seemed not to question her presence too much. So he took her hand and shook it, just once. "Link," he said, and Sheik realized a beat too late that he was introducing himself.

Though she'd hoped to keep a low profile, and had only really wanted to see if this man was still alive on her visit through Solen, she couldn't help but be polite. And so, as she dropped his hand and nodded just once at him, so she offered the name she'd gone by for eight years.

"Sheik."

* * *

 **Thanks so much for the great reviews! I really love reading them, and they were half the reason I had such a quick update! If you want more quick updates, I guarantee that reviews are the best way to ensure them, so please, if you liked this, fav, follow, and most importantly, review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"So," Link said, leaning forward and crossing his arms over the table. "What brings you back to Solen so soon?"

Link, stranger though he was, had brought her to a tavern near the outskirts of town—far away from where those men might look for him. It was hardly a _nice_ tavern, but after spending over a week in Ecchar, any tavern was better than an Eccharn tavern. So Sheik bore it, though the drunken men all around the tavern made it difficult for her to relax.

"I'm just passing through," Sheik said, keeping her voice at the same pitch she'd used when she met him—deep enough to make even her voice androgynous. "Stopped to refill my supplies before I moved on. Why are _you_ still here?"

Link cracked a smile, shaking his head. "I'm still working on my mission. Not going to pack up and leave just because some soldiers gave me trouble—or some townspeople. Thank you, by the way." Sheik waved his thanks away and, to her pleasant surprise, Link didn't insist on her accepting his gratitude. "The guards haven't tried anything since you left, thank the goddesses. They'd be stupid to, all considered, but there was still a chance that they wouldn't get the picture."

Sheik raised a brow, eyes narrowing just slightly as she tried to perceive his meaning. Fortunately, Link continued before Sheik had to ask what he meant—it was always better, after all, to pretend to understand unless it was absolutely necessary to ask for clarification. Pretending to hold all the cards was one of the only way Sheik had ever succeeded at heists, after all.

But _goddesses_ , this conversation was making her uncomfortable.

"You're a _Sheikah_ , after all," Link continued, a wry smile on his face as he went on, oblivious to Sheik's turmoil. "If they'd tried to keep fighting me, then they'd be going against someone working directly for the Royal Family. Give the King my thanks, by the way, for sending you to help. I really appreciate it."

Of all the times Sheik had been glad to wear a mask, she was more grateful now than ever before. Her lips settled into a grimace before she could stop them, but Link didn't seem to notice at all. He seemed to be under the impression that she worked for the Royal Family, and Sheik didn't want to give herself away. So she just nodded, trying to appear less disgusted with the mix-up than she felt. "I will."

Link smiled a little, relaxing as he leaned back into his chair. "And… tell the King, if you're headed back to Castle Town soon, that I don't think she's here."

Sheik pretended to know who 'she' was. "Of course," she said, nodding her head solemnly. But her insides were screaming at her to leave, and to leave quickly. Sheik had learned over the years to trust her gut, and this was no time to second-guess it. If this meeting continued on much longer, Sheik wasn't sure how much she could take.

But Sheik could grudgingly admit—just to herself—that it wasn't just a gut feeling that had her in a rush to leave. There was history, here; the last thing she wanted was to hear a lapdog of the king thanking her for her _service_.

And it dawned on her, as she watched him, that he genuinely believed that the King had sent a Sheikah to rescue him—twice!

Who did he think he was? Though as far as Sheik knew she wasn't Sheikah by blood, she had been raised by Impa as one of her own—thus, a Sheikah—and through years of practice, she could even tap into some of their magic. And yet, here this boy was, assuming that she was in service of the King. Worse than that, he seemed completely unaware of what the Sheikah were truly used for.

Even though she'd never worked as a true Sheikah a day in her life, Sheik felt offended on Impa's behalf. Being asked to deliver messages to the king—being sent to rescue some child on a mission. As if the King wouldn't have sent this very Sheikah to do the job, if it was so terribly important.

Had she been safe to speak her mind, she would have dug into him right then and there. But, as Sheik seethed in her seat, eyes hard and mouth set into a grimace, she knew she couldn't. It wasn't worth it if this conversation would lead to a delay in her travels.

Sheik still didn't regret saving this boy's life, but goddesses be damned, she was really starting to regret coming with him to the tavern.

Desperate to change the topic's course, Sheik tried to focus on the 'she' in Link's message. While Sheik had no idea who 'she' was supposed to be, she was starting to wonder. Ilia had said it wasn't safe for women to go out at night any more, and Link had been accused of kidnapping a young woman, and just now, he'd as good as admitted to looking for a particular woman at the King's request.

Something was all very fishy, and Sheik wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"The man in the alley said his daughter had gone missing," Sheik said, keeping her voice as neutral as she could. "Do you have any information on where she might be?"

To her dismay, Link shook his head. "If I knew, I'd be looking for her. There are too many girls going missing around here… I'm hoping that they're all being taken to the same place, but I doubt it."

Sheik let out a sigh of disappointment. "Do you have any leads on who's taking them, at least?"

Once more, Link shook his head. "I take it you haven't had any luck, either?"

"No," Sheik said—and she supposed it wasn't a lie. "I managed to keep a young girl from being taken a few towns away—but it was a common thug that had tried to take her." She furrowed her brows, trying to think it over. "It's possible that the kidnappers aren't anyone special."

"They probably aren't all working _for_ the man responsible, no," Link said. "But I'm willing to bet that at least some of them are, and that's who the common criminals are taking them to."

Sheik hummed, digesting that bit of information as best she could. If only she could ask what he meant without giving away her own lack of knowledge. But it would be far too risky, and the last thing Sheik wanted to do was blow her cover after learning so much.

Despite her lingering irritation with this boy, the safety of girls all over Hyrule was at stake. The more she could learn about what was going on, the better she could be at defending them. If it meant saving more girls like Ilia, Sheik was prepared to do anything.

But when Link leaned back further into his chair, voice so distraught that Sheik could only imagine he was referring to his mission, she couldn't help the ice that formed in her veins.

"I'm praying every night that she hasn't been found, but… it's possible that the King's daughter is among them already…"

Sheik's heart stopped in her chest.

 _The King's daughter._

"Well, if that's all you have to report," Sheik said, standing suddenly on legs that no longer felt sturdy beneath her, "Then I'll be on my way."

"Wait—what?" Link furrowed his brows, eyes wide and confused as he watched her stand. "You're leaving already?"

Sheik looked away, unwilling to stare at such a concerned face. "I have to restock my supplies as soon as possible. I'm heading up north, to Ardock." –Goddesses damn it, she hadn't meant to tell him that. "I have to be on my way."

"Ardock?" Link stood, following her as she walked, but all Sheik wanted to do was to lunge out the door, to vault over the rooftops and get far, far away. "Why are you heading to Ardock?"

"Classified," Sheik said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. Try as she might, though, Link's expression fell, and Sheik felt almost bad for snapping at him. So she stopped just outside the tavern, fighting to keep her expression neutral. "Don't get yourself killed looking for her, Link. I'll be away for a while, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to protect you next time."

"But—"

"That's an order," she said, and found all too late that her voice had returned to her normal vocal range. Deciding to give up the ghost, she placed a hand on his shoulder, not bothering to speak lower even when she spoke again. " _All_ the girls who've gone missing are important. Don't waste your life looking for just one—and be smarter about how you search, for goddesses' sake. There's nothing you can do if you die looking for her."

"Wait!"

Link caught hold of her hand before she could leave, and it was with practiced grace that Sheik twisted his hand around and pushed him back. "I need to _leave_ , I already told you."

"These roads aren't safe at night anymore," Link said, bouncing back as soon as she pushed him. "At least stay at an inn for the night—just so you can rest before you head to Ardock!"

Sheik whirled around, fire in her eyes as she took a few threatening steps towards him. " _Don't_ assume that I need your protection—or your advice. We're strangers, nothing more."

She didn't have _time_ for his antics—and her mind was still spinning over the phrase 'the King's daughter.'

But she couldn't dwell on it here. Her reaction would give her away; after all, as the king's supposed attendant, Sheik should have known who he was searching for—not to mention, it seemed to be Link's mission to find the king's daughter. The pieces were falling into place one by one, and Sheik wasn't sure if she liked the picture it was creating.

Innocent girls were being _kidnapped_ because of this.

Link had been hired by the King to find the true King's daughter.

When Sheik had saved him that day, the Royal Guards must have thought the same as the townsmen—that Link was the one responsible for kidnapping those girls because of how he'd been asking around for blonde-haired blue-eyed girls.

And when Sheik had saved him, both the Royal Guards and the townsmen must have thought the same as Link—that Sheik was a Sheikah in the service of the King. Stepping in to save him must have signaled that he wasn't a criminal after all, and was telling the truth about his intentions—

Hence why the guards hadn't pursued that day.

Sheik's mind was spinning as she turned and ran, vaulting onto rooftops so she could make her getaway as smooth as possible.

To her immense gratitude, Link didn't follow, though when she (briefly, ever so briefly) turned her head to look at him, he stood outside the tavern looking confused and upset. But Sheik had no plans on going back and explaining herself—and she knew she wouldn't be visiting Solen again anytime soon.

She had come back to see if the injured man was still alive, and he was. She could rest easy now, and leave things as they were. There was no need to check up on him again.

So Sheik took a deep breath and tried to calm her spinning mind. Her escape would do her no good if she was caught now, so she stayed on the rooftops with practiced ease: out of sight, out of mind, and out of most citizens' line of sight.

And with the way her emotions were twisting around inside of her, it was good to keep away from anyone who might see her. Just as the few times it had failed her before, Sheik's red-eyed glamour had never fared well with highly strung emotions.

And with the way the town was now, the _last_ thing she wanted was to be identified as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

The last thing she wanted was be identified as the King's long-lost daughter.

 _But why_ —Sheik wondered, finally stopping to catch her breath on the outskirts of town, chest heaving as she took her horse's reins— _why had they only started looking for her now?_

* * *

Panic was the only thing fueling Sheik as she rode north to Ardock.

Later, when she'd been miles and miles outside Solen's borders, she'd checked her face in a compact mirror and found that her glamour had indeed slipped in the chaos. It would be too taxing to reapply it now that she was hungry and tired and jittery—not to mention it was nearly impossible to do on horseback.

But when she finally made camp for the night, she couldn't bring herself to reapply it just yet.

It felt like punishment, in a way, to keep her glamour off—and punishment was just what she deserved.

It had been far too close of a call today. She'd entertained Link's mistaken identity for far too long, and it had nearly cost her the most precious secret she'd come to own. It had nearly cost her her very identity.

And that was something Sheik wasn't prepared to lose.

Not for her birthright, not for feeling at ease in her own skin, not for all of Hyrule—and certainly not for the King's blessing.

Sometimes, she wondered if she'd even give it up for Impa.

This life, as tumultuous as it was, was her own. She was _Sheik_ now. If the King hadn't wanted her as Zelda, he certainly couldn't have her now.

She wasn't going to entertain his search parties for an instant, and now that she knew he was looking for her, the spiteful side of Sheik wished to make the search as difficult as possible for him. He deserved a bit of stress, she decided—especially when he was hunting her like some kind of exotic animal.

But it boiled her blood to know that there were innocent young women being stolen in an attempt to find her. Had the King truly turned into a tyrant?

It made no sense, no matter how she looked at it. Though she was the eldest daughter of the King, and it was her birthright to inherit the crown once he was too old to rule, the King was hardly old enough to give up the crown. And as far as she knew, he wasn't ill—and she was hardly his only child if he was.

She had a half-sister, she knew, and two half-brothers.

If it were truly necessary to pass on the crown, then one of them could take it once they were old enough, and the King's wife could rule till then.

But the King was healthy, so it didn't even matter that she had step-siblings and a step-mother. There was no reason for him to be looking for her at all!

After all these years, was he so adamant on finding her _now_?

As Sheik closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep, she tried to remind herself—over, and over, and over again—of the truth.

No matter what the King wanted with her, Sheik wouldn't play his game. He'd abandoned her when she was a _child_. Sheik wasn't going to forget that.

So as long as he looked for her, Sheik would hide.

 _And no lapdog of the King_ , she decided, untying her hair and letting it fall around her as she slept, _would be getting any help from her again._

* * *

 **Hopefully some of your questions were answered! This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it seemed like a good stopping point. Things have been a bit hectic for me today, so sorry this is a bit late today—but tomorrow, the next should be right on schedule. As always, thank you so much for the amazing reviews! They kept me motivated as I wrote this, and I look forward to seeing what you all think of this chapter—and whether or not you've pieced together other plot elements so far.**


	4. Chapter 4

**((Prior warning: Sheik's opinion does not necessarily reflect my own. In this chapter, she will express some quite negative views of past Zeldas—views that I don't share. These views have only to do with Sheik's general dislike of the Royal Family, and her own lack of understanding of history. Please keep that in mind as you read. Thank you!))**

* * *

Ardock was colder than she remembered. Of course it wasn't far from Snowpeak, so it tended to always be cooler than the rest of Hyrule, but this time of year it was usually a moderate temperature, at least. And yet, as Sheik tied her horse to a post outside the city, all she could think about was how cold it was.

Strange happenings in Hyrule were nothing out of the ordinary, really, but when so many were happening at once, they usually served as signs, warnings, of a greater evil that was coming. They told the people that they should prepare for the worst and pray for the best.

And between the missing women, the soldiers all being sent to the desert, and now this strange phenomenon, Sheik was beginning to worry about the state of Hyrule.

It was always a good idea to investigate, though, so Sheik pulled a dark shawl from her travel bags and wrapped it around herself. With a start, she realized she could see her breath.

It was late summer—it shouldn't have been so cold.

So Sheik shook her head and started towards the town itself. Maybe one of the villagers would have answers for her—maybe someone would have checked the mountain and the valleys around for a reason. But then, citizens of Hyrule weren't always the most proactive bunch. At the best of times they cared only for their families—and at the worst of times, they lived in either a state of constant fear, or a denial that anything was even wrong.

Perhaps that denial was the reason Hyrule was so prone to being taken over. They'd certainly had enough history, by now, to warn them of dictators on the rise—Demise, Vaati, Ganondorf, to name a few—but Hyruleans never learned.

Its citizens were either too weak or too cowardly to do anything about evil when it came, leading all too often to conquest or a fall to ruin.

Only a select few citizens, she knew, ever seemed to step in.

Impa, being a longstanding servant to the Royal Family, had access to much of the true history of Hyrule—and she'd shared that history with Sheik. They'd merely been bedtime stories for the young girl, once upon a time, but when Sheik grew up, she'd researched them on her own. What she found, much to her surprise, was that many of the stories were true. What's more, she had more information on those stories than most resources could provide.

So she knew about the destiny of a hero to rise up and stop any great evil that stepped into Hyrule. And she knew of the presence of a princess, more often than not, who had aided the hero on his quest with her ability to seal away the great evil, or help him conquer it. Of course, the princess usually went missing or required saving, which always irritated Sheik. If she was so important, shouldn't she know to keep herself safe? If she was captured, she merely added another task to the hero's burden.

Apparently the Triforce of Wisdom wasn't much use, if the princesses of the past didn't possess even enough wisdom to keep them from getting captured.

When she thought on them, Sheik couldn't help but feel angry with her father for having been named after them. The only Zeldas she had much respect at all for were Zeldas who had _helped_ their heroes. Impa had once, long, long ago, told her a story of a history that didn't quite happen, of a Zelda who had aided the Hero of Time on his quest. She had chosen the pseudonym of Sheik—the inspiration for Sheik's own new name.

But, sadly, this story seemed to have no truth to it; when Sheik checked libraries for any mention of this tale, she found nothing.

This had, after all, been her favorite tale, even if she'd only heard it once. To know that the only Zelda she felt true kinship with was merely a character in a bedtime story hurt—and Sheik couldn't help but feel rather let down.

But it only confirmed her feelings about the Royal Family—even the Zeldas of old.

There were still a few, of course, that did _something_ to aid the heroes—one had ridden with him into battle; another had sealed herself away for ages so she _wouldn't_ be captured. But the rest, she felt, were quite ordinary, despite the magic they had sealed within them.

When she was younger, she'd expressed these views to Impa only once—but Impa had merely clicked her tongue and told her not to speak ill of her ancestors, and that most of the princesses had gone through very difficult times alongside their heroes. There had been a sad smile on her face, too, and Sheik supposed it was because Impa had served the Royal Family all her life—but Sheik still couldn't bring herself to agree with her guardian.

It was hard to have pity on princesses who'd been catered to since birth.

It was even harder to have pity on them when Sheik knew that, had her life not gone the way it had, she might have had the same privileges they'd had.

But there was no use feeling bitter, so Sheik shook off her jealousy, continuing to explore Ardock as best she could.

To her surprise, though, she found no one. And the closer to the center of town she walked, the colder it got, till ice coated the streets and doors were frozen shut. The statue at the center of the town was coated in a thick layer of ice—so thick, indeed, that Sheik could no longer make out what the statue was of.

The most concerning thing, though, was the utter silence of the town. Between the quiet and the cold, Sheik was starting to grow very concerned about this town.

At least that explained why no one was here—the people must have evacuated because of the bizarre ice at work. But where had they gone? And what had caused this?

Sheik's supplies were dangerously low, and she knew she'd run out before she could make it to the next town—and who knew if some strange fate had happened to the next town, too? It wasn't worth the risk to go back on the road, Sheik decided. She'd just have to find something here to tide her over.

So she pulled her shawl tighter and pressed on, finding that once she'd passed the center of town, it got a bit warmer. Whatever was causing the curse must have been centered in the town square—but there was no one in the town—and certainly no explainable weather phenomena. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and no wind, either.

After a thorough inspection of the town, she found no cause at all. The houses were empty, and many were unlocked and a mess inside. After her fruitless final search was concluded, Sheik decided to simply restock her supplies and stay somewhere in town for the night, despite the chill.

Maybe whatever was wrong with this town would show itself at night. If it didn't, she could always leave come morning.

Whatever the case, it was worth it, to her, to avoid another night spent on the ground. (And if she could fix this anomaly for the people here, well, that was just a bonus.)

* * *

When Sheik woke, the first thing she was aware of was the cold.

Though it had been cold enough when she'd come close to this house—on the outskirts of town, far away from the frozen town center—the temperature had drastically dropped since nightfall. At night, she expected only a few degrees' difference, but this was leaps and bounds beyond.

When she looked around the room she'd stayed in, she was startled to realize that everything in the room had a thin sheet of ice coating it. The blankets she'd wrapped around her—a thick cocoon of every blanket she'd been able to find—were the only thing still warm about the room. But even the topmost blankets were starting to freeze, she realized, and quickly pushed them off of her.

Without their warmth, though, Sheik felt frozen to the core, so she grabbed the blankets that had been closest to her. Once they were snug around her, she started back for her horse.

Despite Sheik's usual careful steps, though, she found herself slow, her reactions clumsy. It took several tries to get the door open, her freezing extremities lacking the strength to open the doors in front of her. And the closer she walked to town, the slower she got.

There was no wind, no snow, and still no sign of anyone else in this town—

But even in Sheik's sluggish, half-frozen state, she could understand that something was _causing_ it to get colder and colder.

With a start, she looked up to find the full moon rising higher and higher in the sky.

Every instinct of self-preservation she had was telling her to grab her horse and break into a full gallop away from this cursed town, but something deeper within her was telling her to come closer.

And once she'd come closer to the town center, she suddenly understood.

There was dark magic at work here in Ardock—and no dark magic came about on its own.

So Sheik started for the statue at the center of town, its figure quickly being built upon by a thicker and thicker layer of ice.

The presence of dark magic was almost tangible now—and Sheik felt something within herself rise up in defiance. It felt similar to the magic she used to replace the glamour over her eyes—still in need of recharging, though she was far too cold and tired to do anything about it now.

But there was an urge in her to do _something_.

Not entirely sure what she was doing, all Sheik could do was hold her hand and raise it against the block of ice hiding the statue. It seemed to have a magic to it, and Sheik had a feeling that it could freeze her on contact—but the bandages on her hand blocked her from feeling its effects.

The moment she touched it, though, she felt something cold envelop her, and she knew instinctively that this was something alive, and something that possessed very dark magic.

In an instant, adrenaline coursed through her, and she jumped back, kicking off against the statue. Her kick had enough force to leave a small impact on the ice, but it wasn't enough to crack it entirely.

The living dark magic, though, didn't like that at all. Sheik felt as if she was battling with a ghost—and for all she knew, she was. But when she'd cracked the ice enveloping the statue, she felt a chill run up her spine and she swore she could hear a howl of pain near her—and she swore she saw the outline of something near-translucent to her side.

But, if breaking the ice was _hurting_ it…

Sheik leapt away from the space she'd seen the figure's outline, and then jumped towards the ice from another side. She landed another kick, her full body armor once more keeping her from the solid ice of the statue.

This kick was more forceful, and soon the ice in that area fell away in sheets. But there was an awful lot of it left, and across from her, Sheik heard a cry—louder this time.

The figure she'd barely seen before was now visible, if only just.

It was dark, but had a humanoid form, hidden away in a cloak. Chills ran down Sheik's spine as she realized she could see red eyes behind its cloak—but not like her own.

They were glowing, and stretched to cover where the whites of its eyes would be.

Sheik hardly had enough time to react before the creature lunged at her, icy cold wind coming behind it in droves. While the presence of wind was certainly welcome to break the eerie stillness of the town, Sheik felt it chill her to the bone.

As she'd long since dropped her blankets to fight against this creature, she knew she had to end this soon and get warmed up—or else there would be no recovering from this supernatural cold.

She lunged for the statue once more, coming at it from yet a new side. As she'd already hit it twice, it seemed it was growing weaker, because even more ice fell away.

When Sheik looked up, the creature was barely see-through anymore—but Sheik knew instinctively that a fully tangible enemy was dangerous in its own way. If she were to be touched by it when it was like this, she knew it would leave physical damage—and not just the cold it might have left before.

So when it rammed at Sheik, she dodged as best as she could, but the ice beneath her feet was slippery, and she landed much further back than she'd wanted to.

The creature came towards her once more, likely to finish her off now that she was so far away from the statue and couldn't damage it from here. But Sheik wasn't willing to give up—not when she'd come so close. So when it dived for her, she dipped underneath it, just scraping the hem of its cloak. It froze her outermost clothing, but Sheik didn't let it slow her down.

She came at the statue from its final side, and kicked with all her might.

As before, the ice covering it fell away, finally revealing the gray statue of a hero of old underneath.

The creature gave a deafening final howl, but slowly, ever so slowly, it faded back into nothing—and with it went the ice.

A mountain's worth of ice retreated back towards the statue, vanishing within it, till there wasn't even a trace left of it. Summer had finally returned to the town.

It wasn't until Sheik felt great pain in her fingers and toes, though, that she realized just how close to freezing she'd been. It was entirely too close of a call, she knew—and part of her wondered if it had really been her place to end that spirit.

But the town was thawed, now, and Sheik's energy was too spent to dwell on what-ifs. Exhausted, she trudged back to the house she'd been staying at. Perhaps she could get a few more hours of sleep before starting the trek to another town.

Later she'd figure out where the people had fled to—and what that creature was.

For now, all she could think about was sleep.

Considering she'd saved their town, Sheik didn't feel too bad about stealing plenty of food and most of the expensive jewelry she found. If she stole, she could never admit that she was the one who'd saved their town, but Sheik wasn't exactly looking for credit.

More than anything, she just needed to stay alive—especially now that she was being hunted. Girls her age were being targeted and kidnapped, just because they might have a resemblance to the long lost King's daughter.

That in mind, Sheik hastily reapplied the glamour to her eyes. Her punishment for being so careless was over, she decided—and she needed to head back to a real civilization, anyways.

Despite her plans to lie low for a while, jewels were useless to her. If she wanted to keep on traveling from city to city, she needed rupees to tide her over—and she needed a pawnbroker to get her those rupees.

As much as she hated it, it seemed that her only option was traveling right back to Solen.

She'd have to avoid Link after the rushed exit she'd made last time she saw him. The last thing she wanted was to have to _explain_ her outburst—and she was sure she couldn't come up with a good reason for leaving so hastily.

But she needed to visit her pawnbroker. He was the only one she completely trusted, even though Solen had recently lost its standing army. Her pawnbroker, Ravio, was the only one who'd yet to betray her, even when some of her jewels had been ingrained with initials of nobles and posted 'missing' just days prior. Either Ravio was somehow attached to a criminal ring himself, or he truly didn't care where she got her goods, but he was the only one she could count on.

She'd just have to lie low and not cause trouble while she was there. She'd already had enough trouble to last a lifetime, after all—surely a day or two wouldn't be too much trouble.

And so she set off for Solen, a bag full of jewels and jewelry.

* * *

When she arrived at Solen, it seemed Sheik's reputation as a Royal Family's Sheikah preceded her. When she arrived at a tavern close to the center of town for something to drink, the bar's owner had quickly waved away the charge.

"I have a friend who was saved by a Sheikah with your description, honey," the woman said, a strange twinkle in her eye. Sheik furrowed her brows, already irritated if this woman meant Link—but she couldn't help her surprise as she continued, "I was told to put your drinks on her tab, if you ever came by."

 _Her_ tab?

Recently there had only been one girl she'd saved, and that was—

"Ilia?" Sheik asked, looking up at the bartender with wide eyes. "How is she?"

"Doing just fine—still safe in Ecchar, last I checked." The woman poured a light drink, just as Sheik had asked, and pushed it her way. "It's some ways away, but after she learned they were after her, she's been lying low. I hear she's planning on coming this way, though."

Sheik frowned, realizing all too late that her mask didn't hide her expression now that it was off. _Damn_ —this was why she hated eating or drinking in public. "Is it safe?"

"It's safer here than there, I'm afraid." The woman tsked and shook her head, wiping down the counter. "Bad as it is now that the guards are all gone, it's gotten even worse there, honey. Even though they were understaffed as it is, now there's no one to keep the peace."

"The king is a fool," Sheik muttered into her glass, knocking back a drink. It didn't occur to her till after the words were out, though, that it was strange for her to speak badly about the king if she was supposed serving. "Apologies. It's… it's been a frustrating day. His decisions affect many, not just Castle Town. Surely there's a better solution than sending all the soldiers to the Desert…"

A solution to what, Sheik had no clue—but she couldn't allow her lack of knowledge to interfere with her cover.

The bar owner didn't seem to notice her slip-up though, and instead just pushed another drink her way. "I couldn't agree more, honey."

Sheik drank this drink slower, not wanting her judgement to be impaired later, if she should find a threat. Normally she was fine for several drinks, but she didn't know this bar very well, and as nice as this bar owner was, Sheik wasn't about to let her guard down. She'd have another one—maybe—and then be done for the day.

If she wanted to get black-out drunk, she'd save it for Ordon.

"I didn't catch your name," Sheik said after a moment, looking back at the bar owner.

"It's Telma, honey. And you're Sheik?"

Sheik nodded, swirling her drink around a few times before taking another sip. "How do you know Ilia?"

Telma smiled and shook her head, going back to wiping the counter. "Same way as most people around here. I met Link first, and he introduced me. That boy's always busy with something, I tell you."

"Link," Sheik repeated. "You know him, too?"

"Most of us in Solen do," Telma said. "He's a busybody, that one, but he does good. How do you know him?"

As Telma raised a delicate brow at her, Sheik quickly shook her head and knocked back another drink. "Nothing special," she said, thinking back to how she'd saved his life twice. "I just… came across him a few times. That's all."

"Well, he's one of Solen's finest," Telma said, proudly enough to be the boy's mother. For a moment, Sheik wondered if he was, but she figured Telma would have mentioned it if that was the case. "If you ever need something done, he's the boy to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sheik tried not to roll her eyes as she sipped her drink down. "Does Ilia need an escort to come here?"

"Likely." Telma looked up at Sheik, smile turning amused. "Were you planning on volunteering?"

"I might have." Sheik shrugged a shoulder, trying to appear nonchalant. It was much more difficult without her mask, that was for sure—but she could be convincing when she wanted to be. "How long till she leaves?"

"Probably in just a few days. I'd recommend going out there soon, if you plan on visiting her."

Sheik nodded and finished off her drink. "I'll do just that." Just as Sheik started to put her mask back up as a deterrent to more drinking, though, she heard a familiar voice announce his presence. Maybe it was the alcohol, and maybe it was her nerves getting the better of her, but her fingers were clumsy as she pulled her mask back up and moved her scarf back into place.

Though it certainly didn't matter if Link saw her face—he wouldn't recognize her, anyways—Sheik found that she couldn't be too cautious, knowing that she was the one Link was searching for.

"You alright, honey?" Telma asked, furrowing her brows as Link strode over towards them. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine," Sheik said. "Just surprised. I didn't think he'd be coming."

"Link?" Telma raised a brow, glancing at the boy as he came closer. "Why would he be a problem?"

But Link came within earshot before Sheik could explain—not that she had the words for it, anyways—and she simply shook her head.

Of course she couldn't have a night of peace. What was she thinking?

"Hey, Telma," Link said, hopping up onto a stool not far from Sheik. "Sorry for comin' in late. I was busy with the search, you know how it is."

Sheik felt her ears burn as he spoke.

"Any luck?" Telma asked, fortunately not sparing Sheik a glance. She seemed to know that Sheik didn't want to be recognized right now, and that was all well and good—but it was only a matter of time. If she moved, her motion would draw his gaze, and if she didn't, he was sure to glance her way eventually.

Maybe it would be best to wait and see if she could pick up more information from him. She was supposed to already know this if she was a Royal Sheikah, wasn't she?

"None whatsoever," Link said with a sigh. "I just need a solid lead to go off of!"

"Maybe you could finally make your way outside of Solen?"

Link shook his head, resting his crossed arms on the counter. "Solen sees the most traffic out of anywhere. She's bound to come through here eventually."

"And if she already has and knows you're looking for her?" Telma raised a brow. "If she's evaded capture for this long, she must be a smart one. Clearly she doesn't want to be found."

"But the King and I are just trying to protect her," Link said, voice little more than a mutter. "It's not my fault someone's threatening the Royal Family."

Sheik had to force her neck stiff to keep from whipping around to look at him. Someone was threatening the Royal Family?

And the King had hired Link to keep her from _them_?

Sheik realized, a beat too late, that this meant she didn't just have to keep hidden from Link—oh, no. There were _two_ groups hunting her now.

The thought made her just want to sink down into her seat and have at least three more drinks. But it would be unwise, she knew—and if she spoke, moved, or so much as breathed too hard, she was sure to attract the attention of—

"Sheik?"

Sheik turned her head away, hoping he'd somehow lose interest.

"Sheik, is that you?" In an instant, Link had gotten up from his place and hurried over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder and turning her so he could see her. "It is you! I didn't think I'd ever see you again—especially not here!"

"The feeling is mutual," Sheik replied coolly, all attempts at keeping her voice deep lost, considering her outburst last time. Not wanting his touch to linger for any longer than necessary, she knocked it off her shoulder—but he remained undaunted.

Link had the audacity to laugh. Didn't he realize she didn't want to talk to him?

"I'm glad you're here, Sheik," he said, shaking his head. "And so soon, too! It's only been, what, a week?"

Sheik didn't dignify that with a response.

"I'm just glad to see you're okay," Link finally said. "When you left in such a hurry last time I was worried!"

"I can tell." Sheik frowned, hidden behind her mask and scarf. "You've been in Solen all this time?"

"Haven't been able to leave. Seems like my best bet of finding you-know-who." Well. He wasn't wrong—he'd run into who he was looking for three times now. But Sheik didn't allow her expression to give anything away. "How has the Castle been?"

"I wouldn't know," Sheik replied, irritation creeping into her voice no matter how she tried to sound neutral. "Not all Sheikah spend their days at the Castle."

Link looked truly taken aback, just for a moment, and Sheik wondered if she'd blown her cover. Had Sheikah policy changed since Impa had told her about it?

But Link's expression slowly turned into understanding, and he brightened immensely. "You've been looking for her too, then?"

"Along with the rest of the missing girls, _yes_." –It wasn't a lie, exactly. But it was better than the truth. Sheik had a feeling that wasn't quite the right way to phrase it, though, all considered. Sheikahs served primarily the Royal Family. If she was off getting 'distracted' by other missing girls, then she could have been dismissed from service.

Yet another reason to hate the Royal Family.

They cared first and foremost for themselves. That alone wasn't terrible, but for them to expect others to value them above all else? Sheik wasn't impressed.

"Well," Link finally said, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess—I just wanted to thank you. Again."

Telma, who'd been quiet while Link recognized Sheik, suddenly piped up. "For?"

Link turned to look at her, that same sheepish expression on his face. "For, um. Saving my life. Twice."

The bar owner put her hands on her hips, wash rag still in hand. "And when were you going to tell me about this, exactly?"

"It didn't come up!" Link looked almost comically worried as he looked between them. "And Sheik seemed really worried about keeping anonymous, and—"

"Save it," Sheik said. "It's fine."

There was no point in getting so irritated by Link, especially for things he couldn't control, but goddesses, she couldn't _not_ be defensive, knowing that he was hunting her. Though she'd kept her identity a secret for eight years, knowing that she was being hunted by not one, but two groups, understandably had her on edge.

Telma was the first to pick up on how tense she was. "Do you need another drink, honey?" she asked, already getting out the ingredients to mix it.

"I'll pay," Link said with a smile, taking a seat in the stool next to her.

"Ilia's already put a tab on for this one," Telma said, a bit of a smirk on her face. "Seems someone's taken a shine to Sheik."

"Ilia?" Link blinked at Sheik. "I don't understand."

"Sheik saved her from a kidnapper," Telma said proudly, setting a drink in front of Sheik despite never having had a confirmation from her. "She's the reason our Ilia is still safe and sound."

" _Sheik_ did that?"

"There are only so many Sheikah around, you know."

"I need to go," Sheik finally said, taking the drink passed her way. "Can I buy a mug for that?"

Sheik could only half pay attention as Telma poured her drink into a mug and sent her off with it, assuring her that she didn't have to pay for the mug so long as she came back and returned it later. Sheik was sure she'd thanked her, but past that, she was lost, too caught up in what she'd learned tonight to keep her oriented till she came outside.

Once she'd stepped outside, the cool night air brought some clarity back to her, but all the same—her world had been turned on its head in just a few minutes.

Trying not to dwell on it too much now—there would be plenty of time later, as she was riding to Ecchar to escort Ilia here—she instead made the familiar trek to Ravio. Maybe once she got some rupees back in her wallet she could calm herself.

But Sheik had a feeling that her paranoia of being hunted wasn't something that any number of rupees could spare her from.

* * *

 **((Well! Ravio's been introduced, and so has Telma. What will their roles be in this? Time will only tell. As always, thank you so much for your kind** _ **reviews**_ **, and I hope you'll continue to support this. I meant to have this done earlier today, but I had to rework a lot of it, so it ended up taking me longer than I anticipated.))**


	5. Chapter 5

**((I've gotten several questions regarding where this is on the Zelda timeline, and whether or not it's an AU. Just to make it very clear, this is thoroughly AU because it will use characters from various games. Because of that, it's not set in any one game—if anything, it's in the style of Hyrule Warriors. Not anywhere in particular on the timeline (though if it was, it would be after Twilight Princess), but makes reference to other games.**

 **Sheik's design is actually from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and the only appearance difference between her and Zelda is the red eyes. She is blonde in this fic, though a dirty-blonde. Link's design is similar to Twilight Princess Link's. He has a different starting outfit, though. He isn't a farmhand in this AU, and the climate he lives in is cooler, so he can't afford to wear sandals and only one longer sleeve.))**

* * *

Ravio's shop was tucked away deep within Solen's downtown area. All considered, the pawn shop's location alone should have made it a target to the authorities—and for it to be a _pawn shop_ of all things, it was doubly suspicious. And yet, Ravio never seemed to struggle with the authorities, and he never turned away Sheik's business. Even when her items were clearly stolen, with names engraved that didn't belong to her, or the authorities had been notified, he'd still accepted them without a second thought.

Now that the soldiers were gone, though, Sheik feared being caught even less, so she wasted no time placing the jewelry from Ardock on the table.

Ravio looked up at her with a smile, his dark hair bouncing as he picked up the gold and jewels. "Looks like you've found some pretty great ones this time, buddy," he said, holding a particularly shiny gem up against the light. "Where'd you find this thing, anyways? Just for this one I'd say… maybe two hundred rupees?"

"It's worth at least two-fifty," Sheik was quick to haggle. "And it's the same as the rest. My cousin's."

"Your very rich, very _generous_ cousin," Ravio said, clearly just humoring her. "This one looks like it's seen some hard times, though." He held it up to the light, squinting at it. "Looks like it's been frozen solid and unfrozen, judging by the wear on the polish…" He glanced at the pile, then held a few others up to the light. "In fact, looks like all of this has been frozen… Where'd you find these, _really_? Snowpeak?"

"None of your concern." Sheik glared down at Ravio—easily a head shorter than her—with her bright red eyes. "Will you give me a fair price or not?"

Ravio, coward that he was, backed up quickly, nearly tripping over himself in his haste. "I'll give you two-twenty five for the gem! The rest I'll need a better look at! But don't worry about it, buddy, you'll get your money's worth!"

Sheik frowned, hidden under her mask, but she wouldn't find a better pawn broker anywhere, she knew. So she crossed her arms and backed up half a step, giving him a quick nod. "I'll hold you to your honor."

Within minutes, Ravio had gone through most of the jewelry, testing for counterfeits as he went. In the end, though, Sheik had over two thousand rupees in her wallet—yet she still had the lingering feeling that he'd cheated her out of some money.

Sheik couldn't be too angry, though—she'd hardly had to work for those jewels. No one had even been there to defend them. Not to mention she'd finished off that mug of ale Telma had sent her off with. That, along with the two drinks she'd had earlier, easily put her in a more peaceful mood.

"This is it, then?" Sheik asked, pocketing the last of the money.

"That's all I've got to give ya, buddy." Ravio smiled, smiles all around now that he'd put the gold away for safekeeping..

Deciding it definitely wasn't worth the haggle now, Sheik just nodded, slipping her wallet back inside one of her many pockets. Without another word, she started to head out, but just as she reached the door, Ravio's voice stopped her.

"Stay safe out there, will ya?"

There was almost concern in his voice. Sheik tensed immediately, hand freezing on the door frame. Though they'd been trading partners for years, there had never been anything personal between them—and certainly not enough for him to care about her _wellbeing_.

But though Sheik couldn't bring herself to make eye contact, she forced herself to answer him.

"You too, Ravio." The words felt heavy in her mouth, and she was glad to let them go, hurrying out the door as soon as she'd said them.

She'd have to find another pawnbroker.

It hurt, after all these years, knowing that she'd have to break trust and find someone else—but what could she do? Two groups were searching for her now. As reliable as Ravio had been—and though he'd never once turned her in for theft—Sheik couldn't afford to get caught.

If that meant not even letting her pawnbroker get close to her, then so be it.

She could stick around cities closer to the southern border—far away from Solen, far away from Castle Town, far away from all the people that were searching for her.

But even as she decided to stay hidden, a sudden ache in her chest reminded her of Ilia—and of all the girls going missing because of how Sheik prioritized her own safety. She had to stay hidden, especially now that people were searching for her—and she had the skills to do it. But who was helping the other girls? The ones who didn't have her abilities?

Basic self-preservation told her to run, but everything else—instinct, conscience, wisdom—told her to help where she could.

But what could she do?

Sheik looked down and realized, all too late, that she was still holding the mug Telma had sent her off with. It was long since empty now, and Sheik realized a bit late that she'd had more than her fill tonight, and with her reflexes slowed, she might get herself into some trouble if she stayed out any later. It would do her some good to rest for the night, regardless—for once without the threat of criminals, soldiers, or, more recently, _ghosts_ , to harm her.

She had to return the mug to Telma's, anyways—one night at the tavern's inn wouldn't kill her.

And, if she was staying somewhere safe, it wouldn't hurt to ask for a refill in that mug. She'd been through enough these past few days to make anyone need a drink.

* * *

"My," Telma said the following morning, amusement in her voice as she watched Sheik descend the stairs. "Someone's up early. Didn't expect it, considering how much you drank last night, honey. Need some water?"

Sheik was grateful that her red eyes made her look a bit murderous as it was—otherwise mornings like this her glare wouldn't be half as effective. Telma didn't seem to feel threatened, though, and simply laughed as she poured her a glass of water.

"I take it you didn't get much sleep last night?"

"I got enough," she said, voice flat as she accepted the glass and downed it within seconds. "Is Ilia still staying at the apartment I walked her to?"

Telma crossed her arms over the counter and leaned against it, an almost flirtatious smile on her lips. "Why, are you up so early to escort our little miss?"

"Is she or isn't she?"

Perhaps it was just her hangover—and Sheik had damned herself, deciding to have another round after she returned Telma's mug—but she wasn't willing to put up with much this morning. Telma, angel that she was, refilled her cup with water despite Sheik's expression.

"She's still there last I checked, honey. Got nowhere else to go, else she would've gone already." Seeing Sheik perk up, Telma smiled and shook her head. "I recommend getting a move on though, honey. It's a long way to Ecchar."

Sheik nodded, downing the second glass nearly as fast as the first. Her head was still pounding, and there was nothing she wanted _less_ than to be on top of a galloping horse all day. But her hangover would wear off eventually, she knew, and by that time she'd have plenty of other miserable things to focus on, like the late summer sun beating on her back and the sheer distance between here and Ecchar.

But her desire to save Ilia was greater than any of it, and so she pushed the glass back to Telma and took her leave. It wouldn't do to waste the morning.

After all, she had a long, _long_ three days ahead of her.

* * *

When she finally arrived in Ecchar, Sheik was in much the same state as when she'd come all those weeks ago: Exhausted, starving, and in desperate need of a bath. But this time, she had a goal in mind. As soon as she set foot in the town, she checked the premises once, twice, three times on her way to Ilia's apartment.

But just as when she'd searched for those kidnappers before, she found no one suspicious. So Sheik came to the door and knocked, not caring at all that it was late.

To her pleasant surprise, Ilia didn't take long to come to the door. Fortunately she had enough brains to check through the slot before opening the door, and when she saw it was Sheik, she was quick to pull her through the door and shut and lock it behind her.

"What are you doing out here at this time of night?" Ilia stared at Sheik, looking at her as if she'd lost her mind. "It's not safe here!"

Sheik brushed off her uniform, nose crinkling as she realized how much dust she was getting in Ilia's apartment. "That's why I came to escort you to Solen," she said. "Just like you were planning on doing already."

Ilia's eyes widened. Her hands raised defensibly, and Sheik watched—still as death—as she reached for a dagger. "How did you know I was going to Solen…?"

"I talked to Telma," Sheik said, keeping her voice soft and reasonable. The last thing she needed was to be killed for wanting to _protect_ someone, goddesses damn it. "She said you'd be leaving in a few days. I wanted to make sure you had safe passage."

It took a moment for Sheik's words to sway her, but finally Ilia put her dagger back in her belt loop. "I'm sorry, Sheik. After what you did—what you're trying to do even now… I should have…"

"I'm just glad you're not an idiot," Sheik said. "You have a weapon and you don't trust people blindly. I'm glad you're being extra careful."

Ilia nodded, letting out a deep breath. It took a moment, but finally she seemed to have fully regained her composure. She backed away from the door after double and triple checking that it was locked, leading Sheik towards a makeshift living room.

As far as homes went, Sheik knew this one was nothing fancy. If anything, it was rather run-down—but in Ecchar, it was hard to expect much else. Sheik was just glad that Ilia had a place to call her own. Living on the road wasn't something she'd wish on anyone—especially not someone like Ilia.

Ilia was strong in her own right, of course. She was cautious, and independent enough that she lived alone here, judging by the empty apartment. As much as Sheik could respect that, though, her instincts told her to protect this girl. Maybe it was guilt—the kidnappers were searching for _her_ , after all—or her usual protectiveness of other women, but Sheik knew she couldn't just abandon her here.

"Did you plan on leaving tomorrow?" Sheik asked. "Or later?"

Ilia sat in a frayed, faded old couch, legs tucked under her. "Later, I suppose. But nothing's tying me here, either. Tomorrow would be fine, so long as I finish packing tonight…"

Sheik nodded, training her eyes out the window. "We'll head out early tomorrow morning, then." She leaned against a wall, too stiff from riding all day to want to sit down. "Hyrule Field is dangerous at night. I'd prefer it if we crossed it before sunset."

"Dangerous?" Ilia looked up at Sheik, concern on her face. "How so?"

Sheik shifted, subconsciously rubbing the tension out of her arm. "It used to be dangerous because of the soldiers," she said. "Mostly because they'd pursue thieves and outlaws and innocent travelers often got caught up in these pursuits. Soldiers can be… dangerous, when they're determined. But now that there are no soldiers, outlaws control the field. I'd like to believe they wouldn't attack or rob travelers, but I don't trust them any more than the soldiers."

That was certainly some hostility, considering Sheik was supposed to work for the Royal Family. But speaking well of anyone in league with the King made her stomach twist. Any time she tried to speak kindly of them, it felt like she was betraying herself. So she didn't bother holding her tongue.

After all, she was doing this to help Ilia. She had a feeling the other girl wouldn't waste her breath criticizing someone who was putting themself on the line for her.

"Is it possible to go around it?" Ilia asked. "It seems like a terrible place to pass through."

"If we went around it, it would take a week. We don't have enough supplies to last a week," she said, shaking her head. "It'll already take closer to four days rather than three, because my horse can't bear the weight of two people as easily as one, but—"

"I have a horse," Ilia interrupted. "I wouldn't have dreamed of making the trek alone on foot."

Sheik wanted to accept it as truth, but she couldn't help her confusion. As far as she knew, Ilia didn't travel much, and she lived here, in an apartment. Just what was she doing with a horse? "Where are you keeping your horse, then? Are you paying to keep it in a stable?"

Ilia fidgeted, cheeks pinking in embarrassment. "It's—it's in a stable, yeah. But it not actually _my_ horse, exactly. But Link sent me money to buy one so I could travel safely to Solen."

The answer made sense, but Sheik couldn't help but wonder— _Link again?_

"How do you know him?" Sheik asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Telma knows both you and Link, but… she said he'd introduced you to her."

Ilia smiled, seeming glad that Sheik knew him, too. "He and I grew up together," she said. "We both came from the same province, so after an illness wiped out most of our village, we were raised in the same orphanage together."

 _Orphanage?_

"I'm sorry for your loss," Sheik said, redirecting her gaze towards the window. Though she certainly empathized, the last thing she wanted was to give anything away about herself. "That must have been hard for you."

"I hardly remember them." Ilia shrugged a shoulder, looking quite small in that faded armchair. "It was only difficult when we were kicked out at thirteen."

Sheik's eyes flickered briefly over to her, a flash of anger in them. "Kicked out?"

"We were old enough to support ourselves," Ilia said simply. "They had to make room for the younger ones—the ones who couldn't survive on their own."

Rage boiled in Sheik's stomach, and she was grateful for her mask more than ever. It took great effort to suppress that anger, knowing first-hand what Ilia—and by extension, Link—must have gone through. "It's not right, abandoning someone so young," she said, praying that Ilia wouldn't notice the tension in her voice, try as she might to force it down. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Ilia just shook her head. "I'm made it just fine, thanks in part to Link." She wore a fond smile on her face, and Sheik couldn't help but feel that Ilia was like a proud older sister. "Besides," she said, voice growing more somber. "People have been on the streets much younger than thirteen."

 _Ten_.

Sheik nodded, expression as calm as she could force it. "I suppose you're right," she said. She needed a change in subject, and fast, else she knew she'd end up lashing out. So she cleared her voice and moved away from the wall, stoic as ever. "You ought to finish getting packed tonight. It's going to be a long day ahead of us."

With that, she turned and headed back into the front room. There wasn't a bed for her and the house didn't seem to have an extra bedroom, but Sheik had slept in worse places.

So she sat down in front of the door and leaned her head against it. If she couldn't a bed, the least she could do was stay near the door and keep anyone from coming in. she was a light sleeper by now, anyways. Eight years on the run tended to do that to a person.

Ilia was busy packing, and Sheik knew she wouldn't be very good company even if she wasn't busy—so she didn't feel bad about it as she tucked her knees against her chest and fell asleep for the night.

* * *

" _Impa, Impa!"_

 _The elderly woman smiled as Zelda ran through the garden, carrying a bundle of flowers in her arms. "What is it, my dear?" she asked, happily scooping her up in into her lap. The mud on Zelda's dress was, naturally, now being shared between them. But Impa couldn't help wanting to share Zelda's excitement._

" _I found some of the best flowers in Kakariko," Zelda said proudly, holding up white lilies for Impa to see. "They were growing just over the hill, on the meadow on the other side of the graveyard!"_

" _The meadow, hm?" Impa pulled a few lilies from her hands and lifted them delicately to her nose. "They're beautiful, dearest. Thank you for bringing some back."_

 _Zelda beamed._

* * *

" _A maid?" The man at the castle entrance examined Zelda, finding nothing but red and puffy eyes on a girl far too young to look so determined. "I'm sorry, little miss, but we have no openings right now. Especially not for someone as young as you. Go back home to your parents, okay? They'll take care of you."_

 _Zelda was too young and scared to insist on being heard, and not old enough yet for her tears to have completely dried up. So she balled her little hands up into fists and didn't say a word as she hurried back to Kakariko Village. She prayed, and prayed, and prayed that Impa would be waiting at home, same as she always was. But there was no one there._

 _The people of Kakariko had already taken care of her body. Impa was buried in the graveyard where the rest of her family lay—wrapped in white and placed, stiff and unyielding, into a coffin._

 _There wasn't even a body here for Zelda to cry for anymore._

 _All that was left were the white lilies that well-wishers had left behind, and what Impa had been able to leave for Zelda._

 _All that was left were memories._

* * *

" _Impa, why can't I go back to the castle?" Zelda asked, voice no longer thick with tears. There was only confusion left, and brittle hope that this time, the answer would be different. "Papa never made me hide like this before…"_

 _Impa looked at her with an expression her young mind couldn't quite understand. But she picked her up and held her close to her chest, stroking her fine blonde hair in a way Zelda's step-mother never had. "Things are very different now, child," she said softly. Her words had sounded so wise back then, but as Zelda grew up, she knew that Impa had only been trying to make the best of a bad situation. "You'll be safer here with me, far away from that place. I'll take very good care of you, little one, I promise."_

 _But Zelda missed her papa, and her step-mother, and all the castle children she'd played with while she lived there. She missed the maids, and the servants, and the chefs and knights that always gave her sweets or flowers and told her that she was 'the cutest princess Hyrule ever had.'_

 _Kakariko, though, was small, and the people didn't smile as much, and the only one Zelda knew was Impa, who was too old to run around and play with her. There was nothing to do and no one her age to share it with._

 _But Zelda, wise enough to know not to ostracize the only friend she had here, kept quiet about her woes and just let Impa hold her. There was no need to make the old woman feel guilty, after all. Zelda knew she was trying her best._

 _So she held back her tears and tried to make a home here in Kakariko, where she was a stranger instead of the treasured daughter of the king, and where white lilies grew instead of pink roses._

* * *

Morning came with packed bags and stiff muscles, still sore from three days' hard riding. But she had three more to look forward to, and sore muscles had never held her back before, so Sheik rose with the dawn and loaded up Ilia's things on their horses. They were off before the rest of Ecchar was even stirring, and the day was spent in near constant silence.

Talk was useless to Sheik, and it seemed Ilia had plenty to think about now that she'd be living in a new town. There was a lot to be said, but none of it to each other, and that was just fine with Sheik. The silence was a welcome distraction.

Yet, all the same, part of Sheik wanted to know more about Ilia. Like how she'd ended up in Ecchar to begin with, and why she and Link were living in separate cities now if they'd been so close when they were younger.

But asking someone about their life seemed to only be an invitation for them to ask about hers, and Sheik was in no mood to create a story about her identity. Lies were hard to craft, and even harder to maintain. Eventually, something would slip and give her away anyways—so it was better to give nothing about her own life at all. It was like a puzzle; Sheik would rather the puzzle be mostly blank space so that no one knew what to do with any piece they _did_ find.

Not to mention there was always something _intimate_ about sharing secrets.

And as much as Sheik respected Ilia, and as much as she wanted to protect her, she couldn't allow herself to get any closer to this girl than she already was. The past eight years had taught her a lot, and they weren't all happy lessons.

So Sheik was happy to save Ilia's life—but she drew the line at being a part of it.

* * *

 **((Thank you all so much for the reviews! These past few days have been very hectic with projects, and I've been outlining the rest of this story, so I haven't gotten to finish this chapter till today. Thank you again so much—and if you like this chapter, or if you don't, please tell me in a review! I read and re-read them all frequently, and they give me motivation to write the next chapter!))**


	6. Chapter 6

**((To Queen of Hyrule: I'm very sorry about that! Guest reviews take a lot longer to process and show up than non-guest reviews, so by the time I'd uploaded the next chapter, I hadn't seen your review. Terribly sorry about that. But to answer your question, yes, I am uploading these as I write them. Every single one of these is fresh from Word when I upload them to ffnet.))**

* * *

By the time Sheik and Ilia arrived in Solen, she wasn't sure she felt entirely Hylian anymore. She wasn't even sure if she felt _alive_.

Because she'd left the morning after arriving in Ecchar, Sheik hadn't had the chance to bathe after three days of travel, and then they were on the road again for three more days right after. The _only_ thing Sheik wanted when they arrived in Solen was a bath. She could forego food, she could forego a bed—but she _needed_ to get clean.

When they finally came to Telma's—the last few miles on foot because horses weren't welcome on the streets—Sheik could have cried with joy. But she wasn't the only one overcome with happiness. Once they came through Telma's doors, Telma and Link turned and stared. And the smiles on their faces made Sheik's exhaustion and sore muscles worth it.

It didn't take long for Link to run towards Ilia, knocking over his chair and a few empty ones along the way. There was such _joy_ on his face that Sheik almost felt uncomfortable just seeing him—but how could she begrudge him his happiness? It had clearly been a while since they'd seen each other last, and Ilia had been in danger recently.

Still, Sheik couldn't help but wonder. Was _this_ what it was to reunite with a loved one?

Sheik stepped to the side, giving the pair some space. Ilia was here now, and safe—that meant Sheik had plenty of time to get that bath she wanted so badly. So she slipped past them, grateful that neither seemed to notice her leaving.

"Can I get a room key?" Sheik asked Telma, only briefly drawing the woman's gaze from the scene across the tavern.

"Resting so soon, honey?" Telma asked. "I would've thought you'd stay down for a little longer, at least—"

"I'll be back later." When Telma didn't immediately hand over a room key, Sheik's irritation grew. "Room, please," Sheik said, holding her hand out and hoping she didn't look as frustrated as she felt. Her mask might have hidden her frown, but it didn't hide the slant of her brows, or the tension in her voice. Finally, Telma sighed and handed over a key, and Sheik wasted no time in hurrying up to the room and, more importantly, to the bathtub.

Sheik ended up filling and refilling that tub three times.

Once, to soak and wash her uniform so she'd have something to wear after she got out of the bath. The second time, to get the dirt off of her so she'd finally feel clean. The third, by far the warmest of all of them, was just to soak.

Her muscles were stiffer than they'd been in _years_. All Sheik wanted to do was lie there in the hot water forever, without anyone to disturb her. As grateful as she was that Ilia was safe, Sheik wanted no part of the noisy celebration downstairs. She'd come back in a few hours, she knew—just as she'd promised Telma—but for now, she'd take her time and allow the hot water to soothe her aching muscles.

When she finally stepped out, she felt like an entirely different person.

Of course she still _looked_ the same. Her red eye glamour was in place, and all her scars were right where they were supposed to be. Her body was thick with muscle, enough that androgyny came easy to her. But the dirt was off, and her hair was clean, and the soreness had faded enough that she could hold herself gracefully rather than so stiffly.

For a moment, Sheik entertained the idea that she really might be a princess and not just the King's long lost daughter.

But habit was habit, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust of the very thought. Sheik used a small bit of magic to dry her Sheikah ensemble, then changed back into it. The tight fabric was wrapped around her skin once more, and she realized she hadn't quite felt whole without it.

 _This_. _This_ was her.

She wasn't a princess, and she wasn't a hero who went on daring missions to save kidnapped girls, either. She was simply the adopted daughter of a Sheikah who had taught her everything she knew.

All the same, though, it felt nice not to have her hair in a braid. She wrapped the head covering over the top of her hair, but left the rest out and free, relishing how light it felt when it wasn't all pulling the same way.

It wasn't like she was going anywhere tonight, anyways. Even if just for a day or two, she planned on staying in Solen. There was nowhere else she really needed to _be_ —but after that, she knew she needed to get back on the road.

It was too dangerous to stay in one place for too long—especially when so much traffic came through Solen looking for the long lost King's daughter.

Just the thought of leaving, though, made her heart feel heavy.

If she left now, she'd be leaving Ilia behind. And Telma. And Ravio. And Link.

Was it worth it?

Sheik dwelled on the thought for a few seconds, the question weighing heavily on her mind. But there was nothing she could do to change it. She was an outlaw, and hunted by two groups for two very, very different reasons—three, if she counted the soldiers, though fortunately they were far, far away in the Gerudo Desert. She didn't have the luxury of staying.

And she certainly didn't have the luxury of making friends.

So she'd keep her hair down just for tonight, and she'd go to the bar and have a few drinks with them. She couldn't let herself get too attached beyond that.

"—It was certainly a long trip, that's for sure," she heard Ilia say just across the tavern. "But Sheik knew every shortcut here, and the best places to camp. And there were so many people all over the field, and I think I saw someone getting robbed while we were riding! Did you know Hyrule Field was so dangerous?"

"I've heard rumors," Telma replied, a smile in her voice. "It's good you went on horseback, though. I've heard carriages get the worst luck."

"I'm glad Sheik came," Link said. "I can't imagine how dangerous it would have been for you if you would have gone alone."

As Sheik descended the stairs, she saw the group sitting at the bar. Telma caught her eye, though, and smiled, gesturing for Sheik to join them.

"Speak of the devil," she said. "We were just talking about you, Sheik."

"I heard," she replied, trying to suppress the panic that came with Telma's words anyways. After years of leaving as little a trace as she could, Sheik couldn't relax when she knew people talked about her. This time she'd heard them—or at least the last bit of the conversation—and it eased her mind somewhat, but she hated not knowing what they'd said earlier.

Were they comparing stories? Tracing back everything she'd ever said? Had her glamour slipped at some point and they were talking about how her eyes were really blue, how she was the same age as the king's daughter, how she didn't seem to be a real Sheikah at all—

By the time she made it to the bar, the tension was right back in her shoulders, and she had to fight back a wince as she sat on a stool next to Ilia. Goddesses damn it, she thought the soreness had faded.

"You look like you could use a drink," Telma said, looking Sheik up and down. "Long trip?"

Sheik just shrugged. She didn't want to make Ilia feel bad, so the last thing she wanted was to make a fuss about her soreness. "I'm always up for something to drink," she said, wasting no time in ordering something infused with red potion. It certainly didn't taste the best, but it would take care of both her aches and her sobriety all at once.

Not to mention it was _strong_.

She pushed some money across the table, not wanting to waste Ilia's money on a tab anymore. It looked like Ilia was struggling some, and though she was sure Telma wouldn't make her pay for a room if she couldn't afford it, she certainly didn't want to use up what spending money Ilia had.

Fortunately Telma seemed to think the same, and she accepted the money. There was a smile on her face, like Telma knew more than she was letting on, and Sheik felt that tension in her spine return in full force.

Her drink couldn't come soon enough.

As Telma prepared it, Sheik leaned against the counter, trying not to listen in on what Link and Ilia were saying. As they were right next to her, though, it was difficult to avoid.

"—girls being outright _threatened_ in Ecchar, Link, you wouldn't believe it."

"Just blondes?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Or are they starting to expand it like they have in other ones?"

"I think they're starting to figure out that if she's truly the King's daughter, then she has some old magic in her to disguise herself." Ilia sighed, shaking her head. "For all we know, though, she might have fled to an entirely different country…"

"If she is, then good on her," Link said. He turned and looked at Sheik, and she tried not to feel too exposed as his gaze lingered.

Ilia knocked a hand against his arm, though. "Stop staring."

"Sorry, sorry," Link answered, not even trying to keep his voice down. Good humor in his tone, he leaned over the bar and looked at Sheik with a bright smile. "I just—I've been wanting to ask, Sheik…"

Sheik gulped, hoping against hope that he wasn't going to ask something too invasive. But she couldn't just ignore him when he was looking right at her, so she turned her head to meet his gaze. "…I'm listening."

"Have you found any new leads on the princess?" Link sounded almost childishly hopeful, and Sheik reminded herself that she, too, was supposed to be pursuing the King's Daughter. "I haven't heard anything new for a while, but there's just so much strange stuff going on all over Hyrule… It's hard to figure out what matters to finding the princess and what doesn't."

"It all matters," Sheik said, voice as tense as she felt. And goddesses, she didn't mean to be snappish, but this was the last thing she wanted to talk about right now. Not to mention him calling the King's daughter a _princess_ bothered her more than she knew how to say. "The missing girls, the soldiers disappearing off to the Gerudo Desert, Ardock, the King's daughter…"

"Ardock?" Ilia asked, furrowing her brow. "What happened to Ardock?"

"Last I heard it was frozen," Link said, shaking his head. "People evacuated all over the place. I think there are a few here in Solen, actually—"

"If you know who they are, tell them that they can return home," Sheik said. "I went by there just a week ago. It's perfectly fine now."

Link blinked at her, surprise on his face. "But people were saying it was cursed—"

"If it was, it's fine now," Sheik said firmly. "It was abandoned but safe when I left it. With no one guarding it, though, it puts it at risk for thieves. If they figure out they can break into peoples' homes with no one guarding it, I'm willing to bet people have already broken in and stolen things. It's in the peoples' best interest to return home as soon as they can."

And if that was the story spread to get people to return, then no one would think it was amiss that there were a few gems stolen.

"I'll pass on the message," Link said, surprise fading. "You must have been one of the first to go to Ardock after it was unfrozen, though… You're sure you didn't see anything suspicious?"

Sheik shrugged a shoulder. "It didn't even look like it had been frozen when I left," she said. The longer the conversation went on, the more she wished it would end—she was growing tired of having to explain herself without giving anything away. "Just, please. Tell the people to head back there next chance they get."

Telma finished with her drink and passed it to Sheik, who realized all too late that she'd have to lower her mask in front of both Ilia and Link in order to drink. It was nerve wracking enough to have a feminine voice, but to show her face—distinctly feminine, even without makeup—felt all the more uncomfortable.

Still, she couldn't just sit there and not drink, and Telma had already seen her face, anyways. So Sheik carefully—fingers still clumsy and sore—untied her scarf and lowered her mask. There were no cries of surprise, no gasps of horror, no interrogations, and for that she was thankful—but she wished Link and Ilia would stop looking at her.

The drink, bitter as it was, at least kept her mind off of it.

"I'll spread the word to anyone I meet and get word passed around," Ilia finally said, returning the conversation. "I don't know many people here, though, so I suppose it will mostly fall to Link and Telma…"

"And Sheik," Link said, still looking at the Sheikah. "You're staying and spreading the word too, right?"

Sheik's expression sharpened. "No. I'm leaving either tomorrow or the next day." Remembering her cover, and wanting to avoid questioning as much as she could, she added, "I'll see what leads I can find on the missing girls and the King's daughter here, but I can't afford to linger here. There are too many towns going under because of this mess—and too many people suffering from it. If I can help, I'm obligated to."

Once the words had left her mouth, though, Sheik worried that she'd said too much. Of course it _was_ her plan, as much as her self-preservation wished it wasn't, but to phrase it like that made it sound like some kind of vigilante hero.

But it wasn't as if she could say it any other way—it was her obligation because she was the one the kidnappers were looking for, and she couldn't tell them that.

To her dismay, Link was looking at her with something like wistfulness. Sheik avoided his stare, instead drinking down some more of her drink, hoping that she'd start to feel it soon.

"If that's all you're up to," Ilia said, turning more towards her, "Then why not take Link with you? He's searching for the princess, too."

"King's daughter," Sheik corrected, the words slipping out before she could stop them. The trio looked at her for a moment, and Sheik willed her embarrassment not to show on her face. "She's just the King's daughter. It doesn't make her a princess."

Telma nodded at Sheik, much to her relief. "It's easier calling her a princess, but I suppose she isn't allowed to take the throne. Shame, really, with all the fuss being put into finding her."

"Whether or not she's ever allowed to take the throne, she shouldn't have to live in fear," Link said. "She belongs at the castle. I can't imagine what it must have been like, having to leave so young…"

Ilia looked at Link, brows furrowing in confusion. "Having to… leave? I'm sorry, but… In Ecchar, people don't talk about politics much. I'm afraid I don't know the full story…"

Link managed a bitter half-smile and shook his head, surprising Sheik. "It's not a very happy story. I'd hate to spoil your arrival with it."

"Oh, please," Ilia said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Sheik hid her expression behind another sip, but her eyes still flashed in annoyance. She had to rein in her temper before her emotions got out of hand, though—or else her glamour was sure to drop.

"You'd be surprised, Ilia. Our king has more than a few skeletons in his closet, you know. In fact, I'm sure our Sheikah here knows quite a bit about them, working so closely with him." Seeing Sheik's expression, Telma added, "No offense, honey. He isn't the greatest king we've had."

"None taken," Sheik said. "He's done a few things I'm not fond of. How he handled the situation with his daughter was one of them."

"You can't choose not to tell me now, saying something like that," Ilia insisted. "I want to hear."

Sheik took another sip of her drink. Perhaps it was the bitterness she felt towards the king, or the way her drink was loosening her tongue, but she felt it was only fair to tell what had happened—especially since it seemed fairly common knowledge, at least.

"The king had a daughter before he got married," Sheik said. "A little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who lived in the castle till she was five." This was the story she'd heard most often in the streets, and it was true enough, she supposed, though it left out how kind the king had been, and how much those around the castle doted on her. "Even though she was illegitimate, because the king wasn't married, no one paid her much mind. But shortly after the girl turned four, the king got married."

The trio were watching her closely now, and Sheik took a few more sips of her drink before continuing. There was no way she could keep talking if she didn't have something to calm her nerves.

"Well, because of the rules about monarchy, the king's firstborn daughter wasn't eligible to take the throne because she was illegitimate, and the king had a wife now. It didn't matter that the king had an illegitimate daughter, though, until the queen got pregnant."

"Couldn't they have just kept the daughter anyways? It wasn't as if she would take the throne for herself, would she?"

Sheik shrugged a shoulder, trying to seem nonchalant despite the anger burning under her skin. "Who can say? The king and queen wanted to smooth over the scandal, though, so they hid the girl away in a town not far from the castle."

"Kakariko Village, rumor has it," Telma said. "Though some have said she was moved as far away as Carron."

"The true location is classified," Sheik said, trying to guard herself from any time she might let something slip in the future. "But the girl was raised by an elderly nursemaid who agreed to look after her. And she did, quite well, I hear, before she passed away." She trailed off, uncertain how much the public knew. She certainly didn't want to contribute to any new (true) rumors about the subject. If she let on more than she ought to know according to the rumor mill, that might be cause for trouble in the future.

It seemed that others were happy enough to pick up where she left off, though.

"The King said the girl was only ten when the nursemaid passed," Link said. "There wasn't a lot of communication with the castle, so no one knew about it till it was already too late."

"There's a rumor, too, that a little girl came knocking at the castle around that time, begging to work," Telma said. "But none of the guards recognized her and they turned her away. If they'd only let her in, all of this could've been avoided…"

"The king looked for her, of course, far and wide. But no one could find her." There was something almost forlorn in Link's voice, and Sheik tried not to wonder why that might be. "There were all kinds of orphans being made around the country, though, and no one could keep track of one little girl who didn't want to be found."

Telma shook her head, pouring a drink for herself and taking a sip. "It really makes you think, you know, how so much happened all because the King wasn't willing to take a stand and keep his child with him. Frankly, I'm disappointed in him."

Ilia, despite the gaps filled in for her, seemed stuck on one question, though. "Who was the girl's mother?"

That was something even Sheik didn't know—and she tried not to look as curious as Ilia as she waited for someone—anyone—to answer. Was that common knowledge, too? Or had that information been denied to the people just as it had been denied to Sheik?

To her disappointment, though, no one had a real answer. "Some say it was just some girl from Castle Town," Link said. "Others say it was a noble, from somewhere far away. Some say she was a servant or a maid. All we really know is that she died in childbirth and the king promised to take care of her."

"And he failed," Ilia said, a frown forming on her face. "Now everyone else is suffering for it, just because he was selfish."

"I wouldn't go that far," Sheik said, remembering her disguise even as she agreed with every word Ilia was saying. "His entire family is being threatened. I'd say he's paying for it as much as anyone else-more, if anything."

Somewhat more resigned, Ilia sighed and leaned forward, arms crossed over the bar. "I suppose you're right. But it bothers me, knowing that our king is a man like that…"

"He's not as bad as you'd think," Link said.

Sheik felt irritation creeping up her spine, but she tried not to give it away, instead diverting the conversation. "One way or another," she said, "Girls are going missing to find the King's daughter. This has to stop before anyone else gets hurt."

"You know, Sheik," Link started, looking up at her with just a flicker of hope in his eyes. "You never did answer Ilia earlier. We're both searching for the princess, aren't we? Wouldn't it make more sense for me to come with you? I could always write to the king and ask if he would let us work together."

Oh, no. Sheik forced the rising bubble of panic down, shaking her head slowly. The longer someone stayed by her, the more they could piece together—and Sheik couldn't risk him putting everything together. "No. It's better to have eyes in Solen. This city sees the most traffic of anywhere."

"But I told you last time that she's probably not here," Link said. "Wouldn't it be smarter to search for another city? I hear Cythene and Umbar see a lot of traffic, too, and I hear no one's been searching in Lanayru Province."

 _No—not Lanayru_ , Sheik wanted to say. Lanayru was the one province she felt safe in. If Link was thinking of searching for the princess there, he might hear rumors of the girl who showed up eight years ago. And she hadn't been nearly as careful with her identity back then that she was now. There was no telling what he might find out if he searched there.

"I'll be searching those areas personally, same as with the other provinces," Sheik said. "If you find a lead that takes you there, by all means go. But until you hear something that will lead you there, stay put and keep your eyes open."

"I'm as much in the King's employ as you are," Link insisted. And _oh_ , if he only knew. "I want to help find her, Sheik."

Before Sheik could say a word in protest, though, the door flung open.

"The bar is closed," Telma said, eyes sharp on the men starting to file in. "Read the sign. We're not taking customers tonight—"

"That's her. That's the girl who came here today," a man said, pointing at Ilia. And Sheik's heart skipped a beat, simultaneously grateful that it wasn't her they were after, and worried for Ilia.

Alarm bells were going off all over in her mind, though, and Sheik knew in an instant that these men were threats. There was something about their aura that made her pulse spike and her adrenaline kick in, and she wasn't one to ignore instinct.

In seconds, she'd grabbed Ilia and pushed her over the counter of the bar, leaving her in the space next to Telma. The motion seemed to disorient Ilia, but there wasn't enough time to wait for anyone else to move.

"Get her upstairs— _now_ ," she said to Telma, voice sharp when the woman didn't move immediately. "Lock the doors and windows and don't let anyone in."

Without another word to them, she turned and pulled her long knife from its sheath. Turning to face the men, she half wished she'd kept her mask on, but there was no time for that now. If they saw her face, so be it. She didn't plan on letting them live anyways. "Leave this place," she said, gratefully listening to Telma and Ilia's hurried footsteps up the stairs. "You aren't welcome here."

"A Sheikah is guarding her," one man said with a smirk. "She must be the real thing, then."

Link spoke up beside her, and Sheik realized with a start that he, too, had drawn a weapon. He held a short sword towards the men, all gentleness gone from his eyes. "I've known her since childhood. She isn't the princess—now _leave_."

The men started advancing, and Sheik felt a strange energy coming from them—more pronounced than just the threatening aura she'd felt before. It was similar to what she'd felt when she was in Ardock, with the ghost and its power source.

There was something strange about these men.

In fact, Sheik wasn't sure if they were _men_ at all.

"You aren't Hylian," Sheik said, eyeing them warily as she walked towards them. When they froze at the accusation, Sheik knew she was right. "What are you?"

"None of your concern," one snapped, and Sheik swore she felt something evil in him. "Move aside, Sheikah. You're not the one we want."

There would be no reasoning with them, then, Sheik decided.

So without another word, she charged forward, Link close on her heels. If he wanted to join in the fray, she wouldn't hold him back. Any help was appreciated in a fight like this, especially when she was so outnumbered. But she wouldn't hold back for him, either.

She dove right in to fight the one closest to her, slashing away with her knife. Ilia's life depended on it, after all. To her surprise, though, after she'd cut the man only a few times, he vanished into nothing.

The sight of a person disappearing before her eyes startled her enough that one of the others took advantage of her surprise and hit her hard in the chest, knocking her back into a table. The force cracked the table in half, and Sheik didn't feel much better. But she couldn't stay down. Ilia's life was at stake—and considering she'd provoked these men, her own was at stake, too.

Sheik forced herself back up, launching herself forward to run her dagger through the one that had hit her. Once her sword was halfway inside of him, though, he vanished into nothing too, leaving Sheik running forward on the momentum she'd used to skewer him. It threw her off balance for a moment, but she recovered quickly and went after the next.

Link seemed to have a similar idea; she wasn't sure how many he'd taken out, but between the two of them, the original number had been reduced to less than half of what they'd started with.

And if they weren't even real people, there was no chance Sheik was going to let the remaining criminals escape.

"Take the left," Link said, and Sheik heard the clinking of sword against metal behind her. He must have taken on one with a weapon.

Sheik nodded, going for the ones he wasn't engaged with, keeping them off his back so he could focus on disarming the one he was fighting.

Now that they were so few in number, the last ones were more guarded, and it was harder to land a hit on them. But Sheik wouldn't allow herself to crack under the pressure. So she used the environment to her advantage, leaping onto tables and coming at them from above. With a height advantage, it was all too easy to plunge her sword into their heads and chests—though when they inevitably disappeared, Sheik was merely left falling to the ground below.

Still, it didn't take long at all for her and Link to take out the remainders, and soon the only ones in the tavern were Sheik and Link.

Sheik wiped her arm across her brow, looking at their handiwork. Between her standing on tables and the criminals' disregard for the tavern, most of the tables and chairs were knocked over—and the one Sheik had been thrown into was cracked down the middle. Sheik would be feeling that bruise tomorrow, she knew; it already ached something awful. But aside from the disarray and the minor damage done, the shop was still standing. Not bad, all considered.

But Ilia and Telma were still upstairs, and Sheik needed to make sure they were safe—that nothing had snuck in while she and Link had taken on the ones downstairs.

Link seemed to have the same idea, and they hurried up the stairs together, finding—with simultaneous sighs of relief—that Ilia and Telma were alone in that room, and fine.

"It's safe to come down," Sheik said. "The men... creatures… are gone."

"Creatures?" Telma, who'd been standing protectively in front of Ilia, furrowed her brows. "They looked like normal Hylians."

"They vanished into nothing when I knifed them," Sheik said. "They were magic of some kind—someone _created_ them, I'll bet."

Link, to her surprise, was the next to sound confused. "What do you mean created them? How do you know they didn't just use magic to teleport away or something?"

"I can feel it," Sheik saif. "Sheikah magic, I suppose."

In truth, even she didn't know. But her instincts were strong, and she knew better than to question things that kept her alive. So, 'Sheikah magic' it was, though she'd have to pay a visit to Kakariko soon to figure out what, exactly, this strange ability was.

"Well," Telma said, stepping away from Ilia. "Whatever those creatures were, you two certainly worked _some_ kind of magic on them." She shook her head, looking rather impressed. "Thank you—both of you."

Link smiled and shook his head, while Sheik stood stiffly beside him. "It was nothing," he said. "Just glad we could help."

The window on the side of the room was filtering less and less light into the room, though, and the bruise on Sheik's back made her feel like death warmed over. It was dark, she was tired, and sore, and the last thing she wanted to do was stay upright any longer.

"It's getting late," she finally said. Though she'd planned on drinking at least a bit more tonight, more than anything, she wanted to rest. She could have a regular red potion the next morning, perhaps, to take the edge off of the bruising on her back. After that, it would be off to Lanayru, just as she'd said earlier. "I think I'll turn in for the night. Wake me if something happens."

"Wait," Ilia said, finally speaking up. She sounded shaken—still very much worked up about what had happened. But her hand reached out to take Sheik's, holding her back. "I just… before you go, thank you."

Sheik stared down at the shorter girl, her heart beating in a panic. "It's fine. I'm—I'm just going to go to bed. Stay safe. Don't go near any windows, or go outside at all. If anything happens, just wake me, and I'll—"

She froze outright when Ilia went on her toes and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you," Ilia repeated, smiling up at her for a moment.

Sheik could take it no longer. She turned and left, cheeks bright red without her mask to cover them, praying that no one would follow her to her room. She didn't think she could take anymore strangeness tonight.

Still, as she laid in bed, her face was hot with shame. She'd stayed here too long, and she'd caused too much damage. It caused her a physical ache, knowing that she was responsible for Ilia's kidnapping, and yet Ilia still wanted to thank her for doing the bare minimum of protecting her.

Was her own freedom worth endangering innocent people?

But even as she questioned it, she knew she couldn't give it up. She was Sheik now—not Zelda. The person they were looking for had died long, long ago.

* * *

 **((I promise this is actually Sheik/Zelda X Link. Promise. And it will be. Eventually. And Ilia X Sheik isn't going to be an actual thing. If the cheek kiss bothered you and you majorly ship Link X Sheik, please just entertain yourself with the thought of Link watching jealously. Because he totally did. Because he is completely and totally starting to have a Thing for Sheik.**

 **As always, though, please review! I appreciate reading what you all have to say, and seeing your reactions to each chapter!))**


	7. Chapter 7

**((A few notes before we get started:**

 **-NaNoRiMo's goal isn't just 50,000 words, but a fully completed novel. This is planned to be quite a bit longer than that in order to fully flesh out the plot. That said, since I can't complete the full story by the end of November anyways, I can stop stressing about churning out new chapters so frequently. It's unrealistic, especially since Finals weeks is quickly approaching, and I'll be working soon. So a chapter a week ought to work better—and give people more time to read the chapter before a new one comes out.**

 **-I might be creating a few side-stories to go along with this. Because this is so plot-driven, there's not a whole lot of room for cutesy scenes between characters. However, side-stories provide a great opportunity for those. There might even be one focusing on the relationship between Link, Telma, and Ilia—so be on the lookout for those!**

 **-There will be sensitive material within this story, particularly concerning Link's history. Consider this warning in advance for later chapters, though I'll make sure to mention in notes at the head of those chapters.))**

* * *

When morning came, Sheik woke to the sound of a door creaking and too-bright light filtering in from the window.

It was the creaking door that bothered her the most, for what it entailed. Someone was here. Someone had walked into her room early this morning, while she was—

Sheik blinked her eyes open, grateful that the glamour hadn't faded. But though the glamour hadn't faded, she was only wearing a part of her costume to give some respite to her bruised back—leaving her back wide open for this intruder to see. In an instant, she sat up, a fire in her eyes, and glared at the silhouette in the doorway.

"Get out," she snapped, voice not betraying how vulnerable she felt. Though her chest was covered, her back had been almost entirely uncovered, and she knew from the ache that the bruises on her back must have been quite dark. After all, she'd been thrown into that table hard enough for it to split down the middle.

The intruder backed up a step, holding up a hand of surrender, though the other contained a bottle of red potion. "I—Sorry, sorry, I just didn't want to wake you," Link said, holding up the bottle. "I thought—after you got thrown into that table… I was just going to put it on the nightstand so you could take it when you woke, honest."

Sheik's expression didn't waver. There was no reason for this boy to barge into her room—what if her glamour had faded during the night and she'd opened blue eyes? She couldn't risk any part of her identity being found out, and this stranger felt it was acceptable to just walk into her room while she slept?

"Leave," she said, voice just as short as ever.

Though Link hesitated, he didn't linger for long. With a sigh and disappointment on his face, he left—though he set the bottle of red potion inside the door before he left.

Sheik glared at the bottle long after Link had left, feeling spitefulness creep up on her.

Really, though, how dare he treat her like a child who needed looking after?

She wasn't fragile. She didn't need medicine for a mere bruise. If she'd been severely injured, that was one thing—but even then, if she couldn't get medicine for herself, she hardly deserved to have it.

So as she stood up, ignoring the ache in her back, she washed, put on her suit, braided her hair, and walked out of the room, ignoring the bottle she passed on her way. That medicine could rot for all she cared.

The worst of it was, though, that now Sheik couldn't even get medicine if she did need it. If she ordered a painkiller this morning, she'd be giving into Link's babying. Though she had no qualms about toughing it out, it was irritating that she was forced to—all because Link had left that potion in her room.

Still, Sheik kept her back straight and proud as she walked down the stairs. She'd certainly faced worse—and this gave her an exercise in tolerance, she supposed, though it was one she wished she could do without.

As she started down the stairs, though, she became aware of voices coming from the dining area.

"—think she's getting up soon, yeah," she heard Link say, and she couldn't help the irritation underneath her mask. "Walked in on her… Not, um, the best of situations."

"Honey, you shouldn't have expected anything else," Telma said, and Sheik turned the corner just as she watched Telma put a hand on Link's shoulder. "You can't just walk in on someone who's sleeping—especially a woman. You don't know if a wanderer like that sleeps naked or not, you know."

"She wasn't mad because of that!" Link exclaimed, face flushing. Sheik stayed just around the corner, curious now as to why he thought she was angry, if he knew it wasn't because she was worried about being found naked. "She seemed just… angry that I'd walked in at all, to be honest."

Telma tsked and shook her head. "Well, you know how irritated you get when _you're_ woken unexpectedly," she said. "Next time extend the same courtesy to her. If you must leave red potion, at least leave it outside. And what was it even for, honey? She looked fine to me."

"…She rode for almost six days straight," Link said. "She's gotta still be sore, that's all."

In her place on the stairs, Sheik took a step back, a strange feeling welling up in her chest. Why had he covered for her? He'd seen her get thrown into a table, and she knew he must have seen the bruises on her back.

Yet he'd respected her privacy, even though she'd snapped at him?

That strange feeling only continued to grow, and Sheik leaned against the wall in annoyance, trying to puzzle through it. There was a flash of understanding, though, and in an instant, she understood.

 _Gratitude_.

Her heart was trying to get her to feel grateful—all because this boy was willing to cover for her.

But it was her own goddess-damned business in the first place, and he had no reason trying to butt in. Her feelings could keep their damned gratitude, but Sheik would have none of it. So she stuffed those feelings deep, deep down, and preserved the scowl on her face as she walked down the stairs. Not that it did much good—her mask and scarf covered all but her eyes.

The bar's floor was still a mess, with tables and chairs knocked everywhere. But Telma, Link, and Ilia were already up and about fixing it up. Sheik joined them, not wanting the burden to fall to them when she'd been half the reason the bar was a mess. Of course, had she not fought back it would have been in even worse condition—but she'd have felt bad if they had to clean up a mess she caused.

She worked silently for a while, grateful that no one was attempting to speak to her so early in the morning. But once everything was picked up, it all went downhill.

"So, Sheik," Link said, walking up to her with a smile on his face. "That was sure somethin' yesterday, huh?"

Sheik kept her eyes trained on the wall across the room, refusing to even dignify that with a reply. He had treated her like she was weak earlier—the last thing she wanted was to commend him on his _teamwork_.

Undaunted, Link kept on. "I was just thinking… If we worked that well together on such short notice last night, then maybe… It would be better for the both of us to work together in the future. What do you say? I know you want me to keep my eyes open here, but I really think the Princess knows not to come through here. I need to find her."

"What about Ilia?" Sheik said, still not making eye contact. "You'd leave her alone here, in a new town?"

"She's hardly alone, she has Telma," Link said. "But the princess—as far as we know, she doesn't have anyone. Someone's gotta protect her—someone's gotta make sure she doesn't fall into the wrong hands. If her Triforce of Wisdom is taken by—"

Though Link cut himself off, glancing around behind him to make sure Telma and Ilia hadn't heard, the damage had been done.

 _So_ , Sheik thought. _That was all they were really after._

Well, it wasn't like she'd been hoping her father was looking for her because he, goddesses-forbid, _cared_ about her. No, he just wanted to know if she had the Triforce of Wisdom, and he wanted to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

Whose 'wrong hands' he feared remained to be seen, but Sheik knew it had to be something big if her father had only started looking for her now.

And, hadn't there been something about someone threatening the Royal Family?

Though Impa hadn't told Sheik much about the Triforce, she'd mentioned that the Triforce of Courage traditionally went to an era's hero—and that the Triforce of Wisdom tended to go to the princess. No part of the Triforce had been seen in centuries, though, and Sheik certainly didn't have any new marks on the back of her hand.

Well. If they were only looking for her because of the possibility she had the Triforce of Wisdom, they could forget about it. She didn't even have it.

Sheik just wished that she could write to the king and tell him that, but if someone was really targeting the Royal Family, then it would be foolish to let them know that she was alive. Perhaps if she laid low for long enough, then they would think she was dead.

And as far as Sheik was concerned, Zelda _was_ dead.

She was gone, never to return, and the world would just have to accept that. She wasn't the heir to the throne, she wasn't the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. She was just the King's first child, the fruit of an unmarried union that had been cast aside once there were other, legal, heirs.

Sheik had been silent for too long, though, frozen in her anger, and Link gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, um, you alright there? I know I'm not supposed to say what they're looking for but—you kind of blanked out there…"

Sheik knocked his hand off of her shoulder. "I'm _fine_."

"So, is it a yes or not? I need to start heading into a different city anyways. I don't know why, I just have a feeling I won't find her here," Link said. And goddesses, it was almost comical how sure of that he was. "And if we're both going to other cities, we might as well go together. It's safer that way, isn't it?"

"I'm not made of glass, and neither are you," she snapped. "My goal is to save any girl that's been caught up into this, not just the king's daughter. Any girl could be the king's daughter, and for all we know she's already been captured. So if you're only set on finding one specific girl, then you're wasting my time."

Link looked taken aback by how short she'd been with him, but in an instant, he'd taken hold of her hand. He pulled her back, forcing her to look at him, not breaking eye contact. "I want to find her just as much as you do," he said. "I _will_ find her, with or without your help, but if you think you're going to hold me back from finding her, you've got another thing coming."

"You can look for her in other cities on your own, then," Sheik said, pulling her hand sharply out of his grasp. "There's no sense in having two people looking for someone together when they could have eyes in different cities."

"It's dangerous for either of us to be traveling alone all over Hyrule looking for her! You're just asking for someone to rob you, or worse—"

Sheik glared at him so coldly she felt, for a moment, that it might freeze fire. "I'm not asking for anything but to find the king's daughter," she said. "And I _don't_ need your protection—and you don't need mine."

"Then at least tell me what leads you have, damn it," Link said, raising his voice. "You're always off goddesses-know-where in Hyrule doing _something_. You have to have some kind of lead if you're following it so far!"

"Girls are going missing all over Hyrule," Sheik said, shaking her head. " _All_ over Hyrule. There are leads everywhere because _everyone_ is being affected. We don't know where the Princess even is—she could be in another land entirely for all we know. But I won't know that unless I look, far and wide, in every city and village that I can."

"But people aren't just taking blue eyed blonde haired girls anymore, Sheik," Link said. "They're taking _any_ girl around your age—it's not safe for you to travel alone!"

Sheik's back straightened up, and she squared her shoulders, looking down at Link the same way she might look at someone who insulted Impa. "Then we have leads _everywhere,_ if _every_ girl my age is being looked into—and, in case you haven't been listening, _I can protect myself."_

But Link didn't back away, instead standing up taller and looking her square in the eye. He was no coward, Sheik would grant him that, but right now the last thing she wanted was opposition. "You were saying to not waste my time _just_ going after the princess—you have to care about other girls' safety, don't you?"

"Obviously," Sheik said. She crossed her arms, still staring him down. Impa would have liked this one, she knew—but she couldn't quite bring herself to feel the same.

"Then let me care about all girls' safety, too," he said. "Including yours. Please, Sheik. It's not safe. Believe me—I've been in Solen, hearing a lot about girls being taken from other towns." He paused for a moment, seeming to gather the strength to continue speaking, and what he said nearly stopped Sheik's heart. "And if the King is so willing to risk your safety—then… then I'll write him and demand that he gives you someone to protect you."

No.

No, no no _no_. No, Sheik couldn't let him write the King. If he told him about her, then he'd find out that she wasn't actually a Sheikah—and he'd demand answers, and she'd have to go into complete hiding, and she wouldn't even be safe as _Sheik_ —

"It isn't necessary," Sheik said, trying to hide the panic in her voice. "I prefer to work alone, Link. There is no need to get yourself involved in this. I know what I'm doing."

"Just because you're a servant of the Royal Family doesn't mean you should have to put yourself in such a dangerous situation," he said. "I don't care if it's what you're used to, it's not right!"

"Drop it, Link," she snapped. "I mean it. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I can't alter my plans just so you can tag along—"

"I won't be just tagging along, Sheik. I want to help you—I want to find the princess just as much as you do. And if you leave without me, I am writing the King. Even if he doesn't agree, he at least ought to know what you're putting yourself through. If he knew I'm sure he'd—"

"It's fine," Sheik said, barely keeping a lid on her growing panic. "Just leave it alone already!"

"Not until you let me help you. One way or another, I'm going to make sure you have someone to keep you safe."

"Need I remind you of how we met?" Hands clenching into fists at her sides, Sheik wanted nothing more than to hit him in her frustration, but she restrained herself. " _Twice_ , Link—twice I saved you, and yet you don't believe I can handle myself?!"

"That's different! You're a Sheikah, no one wants to cause trouble with a Sheikah around. It's not like you really fought those guys!"

"I have handled myself alone in fights far larger than those. I can protect myself just fine." Frustration building, she pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, headache building. "Goddesses damn you, Link, I don't want you butting in anymore! What I do is my business and my business alone!"

This— _this_ was why she didn't want to get close to anyone. People were frustrating creatures who constantly butted in and tried to control her. All she wanted was her privacy, and her freedom. She didn't have a lot in the world—no family, no friends, no home to call her own—so the least she deserved was her right to go where she wanted, and when.

And now someone was trying to take away even that?

Her heart clenched painfully, but she forced back her feelings just enough that her glamour wouldn't fade. If she got much more worked up, she'd be at a serious risk of losing it—and then she'd really have to go into hiding.

"I get it—you work alone. But you don't have to, Sheik," Link said, voice equally frustrated. "We're on the same team. I can respect the way you search—and I'm more than willing to help you with it. You saved Ilia—and if there's a chance of saving other girls, too, then I want to help. But if we're going to be working on the same team, doing the same things, then it makes no sense not to work together."

Sheik took a deep breath, forcing her panic down. "You have _no right_ threatening to write the king," she said. "No right."

Link frowned, finally averting his eyes. "Maybe I don't," he said, "But if it means you'd be safe, then I'd be glad to overstep my bounds."

Though Link was clearly set on her safety, all Sheik could think was that he was meddling—and she'd never liked meddlers. But what choice did she have? It was either this, or let him write to the King—and then she'd be hunted for impersonating a Royal Sheikah. Of course, her ensemble was that of a warrior's, not a servant's, but it wasn't her fault that most didn't know the difference.

Even if she wasn't realized as the King's daughter immediately after her capture, she knew the penalties for deceiving the King. She'd either have to come clean about her parentage or rot in a cell for the rest of her days.

Between her limited options, there wasn't much else to do.

"You can come with me _temporarily_ ," Sheik finally agreed. Seeing the start of a smile on Link's face, she held a hand up, cutting him off. "But only until you realize that I'm fine working alone."

"What if I prove that we work better as a team than alone?" Link asked, still undeterred. Goddesses, did anything make him upset long term? "Would you change your mind then?"

"If you proved that, you wouldn't _have_ to convince me. But I doubt you'll be proving much of anything. I prefer to work alone."

Though she managed to keep her exterior quite calm, it was becoming difficult with all the anxiety bubbling in her stomach. So she shook her head and started upstairs, eager to be alone with her thoughts for at least a little while.

As she mounted the stairs and came back to her room, though, Link called up after her. "So when are we heading out?"

"Dawn," Sheik said, nearly tripping over the bottle of red potion still sitting on the floor from that morning. Her irritation only grew when she saw it, and without thinking about it, she took it and threw it to the bottom of the stairs. Link was waiting there, and he caught the bottle with a puzzled expression. Rest assured that he'd caught it, Sheik raised her voice, though kept it flat-toned and painfully collected. "And take your goddess-damned potion back already, I'm getting sick of looking at it."

She shut the door before she could say another word, sinking to the floor in front of it just as soon as she was out of sight.

What was she going to do?

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with Sheik avoiding looking at Link, which was easy enough. Though her possessions were few and packing didn't take long, she had plenty of a journey to plan, and she had rupees to budget. Having been a nomad for years, she'd stayed in nearly every town in Hyrule, so she knew which inns had the lowest prices—and which ones were worth a bit extra, if it meant staying safe. But now she had _Link_ to worry about—and that would require extra rooms. In case he didn't have the money, she'd quite possibly have to use up more of _her_ money, which would require completely working her budget. She could always, of course, only book one room with two beds which wouldn't be quite as bad as buying a separate room entirely—but she didn't want to sleep around him.

Her glamour had worn off because of nightmares before, and she couldn't allow him to discover her secret.

That would make camping difficult, too—meaning she'd probably have to use a tent if she wanted to keep her privacy. Goddesses _damn_ it all, why did he have to go and complicate everything?

Just days ago, she'd planned out her journey for the next several weeks. But with Link, she'd have to change it all! There wasn't a chance of her going to Lanayru now. The best she could hope for was Eldin or Ordon province again—perhaps the very outskirts of Lanayru in the areas she hadn't traveled so much as a child.

And she couldn't steal, either. Not if she wanted to maintain her cover as a Sheikah.

That would mean she couldn't replace her funds, so she had to save money as often as she could for food and supplies—which would mean a hell of a lot of camping outside and bathing in rivers.

Even if Link _did_ provide for himself, Sheik still only had enough to last her a few months, if that. She wouldn't be able to replace it unless she found odd jobs—because it wasn't as if the King was actually paying her.

It was giving her anxiety just thinking about it—but her partnership with Link couldn't possibly last that long, could it?

By the time Sheik's funds ran out, they would have surely already parted ways.

And, if not, she supposed she'd just have to make a run for it.

If Link asked the King about the Sheikah who'd traveled with him for the past several months, she'd have to deal with the consequences—but at least that would buy her a _bit_ more time, right?

But, as she looked over her notes and her maps, her strict budgeting regiment compared to the supplies she already had, Sheik knew that her biggest worry should have been the missing girls.

She was to blame, however indirectly, for their capture—and no matter how difficult Link might make it, she would find the girls, and she would save them. If Link stood in her way, then she'd have the perfect excuse to get rid of him—and if he helped…

Well. At least then there would be more girls they could save.

That in mind, Sheik took a deep breath and started repacking her notes in her satchel, along with her wallet.

Though she half hoped that he'd be a nuisance enough that she could be rid of him, Sheik knew that she should be hoping he was helpful. There was more at stake here than just her freedom—she knew that. There were girls all over that had no chance of freedom without someone to rescue them. Even if she was found out as the King's daughter, she'd at least be free to sneak away in the dead of night and create a new identity.

But those girls?

Without her, they didn't stand a chance.

If Link could be a help, so be it—

But Sheik wasn't going to get too attached to him, either.

* * *

The following morning, Sheik rose early and packed her belongings on her horse. Half of her was hoping to leave without Link, since the sunrise came and went without him showing. But, to her dismay, she heard his footsteps behind her just as she was finishing up loading her horse.

"So, you _are_ coming," she said in place of a greeting. Not bothering to make proper eye contact, she simply kept at packing her horse and checking to make sure everything was secure. Though she didn't spare him a glance, though, she didn't miss the patter of hooves. "I take it you have your own horse?"

"Ilia's giving me the one she bought, since it was with my money," Link said. "Packed her up last night. Name's Epona." He affectionately patted the mare. "So I'm ready to go whenever you are."

Sheik nodded and finished tying the saddle-bags.

"We're heading south," she said, keeping her map out. "South, past Ordon, unless we get a lead redirecting us."

"Isn't that by Ecchar?" Link asked, mounting Epona. "Will we be stopping there?"

"There were men threatening Ilia," she said. "I saw one of their faces. If I see him again, I might be able to get some information out of him." Sheik mounted her horse as well, saddling up and putting the sun to her left. "It's going to be a long trip, though. You can back out any time you like."

"I'll take my chances." A confident smile on his face, Link let out a loud "Hya!" and started forward towards the South.

Sheik could only shake her head and follow close behind him.

She just hoped that she wouldn't regret this as much as she thought she might.

* * *

 **((Sorry for being late with this, but as I stated before, things are getting a bit hectic, and it won't really meet NaNoRiMo requirements anyways. However, I will still try to update frequently—and, as always, I appreciate your reviews. They motivate me to write more than anything else and I re-read them frequently. So if you liked this chapter—or if you didn't!—please review to tell me what worked, what didn't, and what you want to see more of!))**


	8. Chapter 8

**((Guess who finally had time to finish this! Sorry for the long delay, but I had finals and projects this last week, and the week before that, I was travelling and finally got to see my family again for the first time in several months. But here it is, finally: Chapter 8. Hopefully the next won't take so long in the making!))**

* * *

Just as with Ilia, Sheik kept conversation with Link to a minimum. Fortunately, though, he seemed not to mind too much. The atmosphere was hot and humid for most of their first day's travel, and it simply took too much energy to keep up a conversation when they were so set on riding.

Once the coolness of night replaced the day, though, and the sun dipped behind the mountains far off in the distance, Link seemed to grow restless. It wasn't until the light disappeared from the sky, though, that he spoke up.

"Shouldn't we give the horses a break?" he asked, riding up closer to her so he didn't have to raise his voice. "They've been riding hard since sunrise."

"If we want to make it Ecchar in three days, we have to keep going," Sheik said. Her own horse was used to hard riding by now, she knew, though she felt a brief pang of guilt as she realized how much she asked of it.

Link's expression shifted from restless to puzzled, and he slowed down beside her, prompting Sheik's own horse to slow. "What happens in three days?"

Sheik glanced at him, puzzled herself. "Nothing. It's just not safe to stay on Hyrule Field for longer than we have to. If you hurry, you can make it to Ecchar in three days without stopping at any towns along the way."

"So we don't need to be anywhere in three days," Link said, slowing his horse to a stop.

Sheik's own horse stopped as well, ignoring her urging to continue. "I don't want to be in Hyrule Field any longer than we have to," she said. "Criminals pass by here at all hours, these days—I don't want anyone to steal from us while we sleep."

"If the horses collapse, we'll be in Hyrule Field even longer." Not intimidated by Sheik's glare, Link dismounted. He gently patted Epona's neck and stroked her smooth black mane, smiling when the horse let out a soft whinny at the attention. "Let's just set up camp here. It's as good as anything else around here, plus there's an apple tree for the horses. They've gotta be starving by now, and we can pluck a couple of apples for the road, too."

Seeing that Link wasn't going to remount Epona any time soon, Sheik forced her irritation deeper inside. It would do no good arguing with him.

So she dismounted and started taking the saddle off of her stallion. If there was no convincing him, then she might as well take care of her horse, the strong, tired thing that it was.

Once she'd fed it a few apples, it ran off to graze on the grass, and Sheik let it, focusing instead on setting up her things for the night.

It was a pain, making a tent out here—and she might as well have put up a sign giving their location. But she couldn't risk turning over in her sleep and waking from a nightmare with blue eyes. What else could she do?

But this was Hyrule Field, she reminded herself—not the skirts of Lanayru or Eldin or Ordon. This was bandit country, and dangerous, and if they had to leave in a run, she wouldn't have enough time to disassemble things.

As much as Sheik wanted to protect her identity, tonight wasn't the night to focus on it. It would be incredibly unwise to take such a risk—and, when it came down to it, she still valued her life over her identity.

So she took a deep breath and forced herself to accept the situation she was in. If there was nothing to do about it, then there was no use worrying over it.

Knowing that she still needed time to heal and to rest before another day of hard riding, Sheik simply pulled out a sleeping mat and faced away from Link.

Red eyes slipped shut, and she prayed they would stay their proper color overnight.

When Sheik woke, her first instinct was to check her glamour, as always—and though she was put at ease once she felt the magic, her relief quickly faded when she realized _why_ she'd woken.

The beat of hooves—about five hundred feet back—and the loud voices of the horses' riders cut through the darkness of the night.

Sheik was up in an instant, throwing the saddle over her horse, just in case they needed to make a break for it. Link hadn't woken, though—not at the quickly approaching horses or Sheik's own scrambling.

"Wake up," she snapped, crouching down and shaking the boy's shoulder. "Wake up—someone's coming."

Link blinked his eyes open slowly, clearly having trouble adjusting to the early morning. But at the panic in Sheik's tone, he was spurred into action (albeit with bleary eyes) and stood, rolling his mat and tucking it into a saddle-bag. But the horses were too quick on them, and there wasn't enough time for them to tie their things down or even mount their horses.

Sheik prayed that the approaching gang would merely ride by.

But no such luck.

The horses circled around Link and Sheik's campsite, trapping them with their numbers, and Sheik instinctively checked for her knives and the katana on her back.

Whether or not these were bandits, sometimes the best course of action was to threaten hostilities.

Link seemed to have a similar idea, because he drew his sword and stood next to her, facing opposite against the other side of their encirclement.

"What do we have here?" one of the riders said, his deep voice twanging with an accent Sheik recognized from the deep southern provinces. Ecchar, perhaps—Ordon sounded less crass. "A Sheikah so far from the castle? And who's this? A little princeling you're protecting?"

"I will not hesitate to hurt you," Sheik said, narrowing her eyes and letting her knives flash in the light. "Let us go."

"Nah," one of the men said, ignoring Sheik and instead talking to the one in his company who'd spoken first. "If he was a princeling, then we'd know. None of the Royal Family have been seen outside the castle in months. And he's too old to be one of the sons, anyways."

"Well none of the Sheikah were supposed to have escaped, either, and there's one right there! Maybe he's a noble brat…"

"If he's a regular noble then there's no reason for a Sheikah to be traveling with him, you numbskull!"

The first glowered at the second, ignoring Sheik and Link for now—though Sheik knew moving would be too risky even when they were distracted. They were still trapped inside the circle of horses, after all.

As much as Sheik wanted to make a break for it now, though, the people trapping them were giving her a lot of much-needed information. The Royal Family hadn't even been seen in months—and why? Because there was a plot against the Royal Family?

Girls only started going missing a month ago or so—and yet, from the sound of it, the Royal Family shut themselves away before girls started going missing. Meaning that the threat against the Royal Family definitely came first.

It seemed to make sense. The girls only started going missing once it was obvious that no one within the Royal Family possessed the Triforce of Wisdom, leaving no other choice but to seek elsewhere—hence all the kidnappings.

But that begged the question—why hadn't they found the Triforce of Wisdom with the Royal Family? And if it wasn't with them, where was it?

Legends about the Triforce had always been sparse. Even in the olden days, people scarcely seemed to know about the Triforces. Sometimes it seemed that they were shared within the family, which certainly seemed to make sense with its reoccurring presence in Princess Zelda, but not every Zelda had had it. When Impa had taught Sheik about the legends of old, it was revealed that with the first human incarnation of Hylia—the first Zelda—and the first _re_ incarnation of the Chosen Hero, it was the Hero who'd possessed the Triforce of Wisdom—along with the Triforce of Courage, and the Triforce of Power. He'd had the entire Triforce at one point, and Zelda hadn't had a single part.

And yet, as time went on, Zelda came to possess the Triforce of Wisdom several times, and Link came to own the Triforce of Courage more often than the entire Triforce. And sometimes, neither of them had any Triforce pieces at all.

There had only been a handful of times where the princess and hero had each had one piece (respectively, the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage), and one of those Sheik still believed was a fairytale. It was, of course, once her favorite tale, because this was the story where Zelda had transformed from a princess into a Sheikah warrior—and had taken on the name that Sheik took for herself.

But in that fairytale, an evil man named Ganondorf had broken into the Sacred Realm and attempted to steal the Triforce for himself. But his heart had been unbalanced, and so he was only left with Power, while the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom went out into the world, finding homes in new hosts. They'd gone, respectively, to the young Princess Zelda, and to a boy supposedly from the Kokiri Village deep, deep within the Lost Woods.

But that story had, by all accounts, never happened. The Zelda who had supposedly done it was unremarkable in the history books at best, and most known for having the premonition to stop an assassination attempt on the King before it occurred. The assassin, a Gerudo _supposedly_ named Ganondorf, was locked away, and history soon lost track of him, though the Twilight Invasion was partially led by a creature of the same name.

But there were no records of a boy from the Kokiri, no mention of the Triforce, and if that Zelda had had the Triforce of Wisdom, no one ever mentioned it, though her later descendant seemed to have possessed it.

While it was true that Sheik's birthname was Zelda, she'd given up that identity. Thus, any association with the Triforce ought to have followed. Not to mention, if she had it, she certainly wasn't aware of it.

There was no distinctive birthmark, no triangle with a golden glow anywhere on her body, let alone her left hand. Not to mention the only wisdom she possessed was being wise enough to keep her cover and not get herself caught. She wasn't stupid by any means, but if anyone was looking for a pinnacle of wisdom beyond her years, they could keep right on looking.

"The Sheikah might not even be a _real_ Sheikah," one of the men said, and Sheik was forced out of her thoughts as she realized the weight of his words. "Hasn't there been talk of at least a dozen fake Sheikahs, sneaking around in the dead of night and stealing from people?"

"This one has red eyes, you idiot," another said. "Only real Sheikah have red eyes."

"Then why's he traveling with this lot, eh?"

"Maybe the _boy's_ the princess in disguise," one jested. "Short enough to be."

Sheik's patience was beginning to grow thin, now that they'd stopped giving useful information. But what could she do?

Once upon a time, Impa had given her magic lessons, lessons where she'd learned how to control her appearance along with a few self-defensive spells and elemental spells. For the most part the spells were small, as Sheik had been too young to pick up much. Most of them were good for creating a diversion—but where could they go? The horses were penning them in.

But, Sheik recalled, if she used the spell that flash-blinded anyone around, then… Perhaps she'd be able to spook the horses enough that they started running away—especially if she started a small grass fire to keep them from approaching again. Even if the horses didn't leave, though, the chaos that even one startled horse could cause would be enough for them to have a fighting chance.

And a fighting chance was all they needed.

Link was still beside her, and for that she was grateful. She grabbed his wrist, leaning over to whisper while the men were distracted.

"Close your eyes," she said. Not waiting to see if he was or not, she reached into the pouch on her thigh for the deku nuts the spell required, and tossed them to the ground across from them.

It spooked, just as she'd thought, and most of the men were blinded, too.

Several of the horses startled just as she'd hoped—especially the ones closest to the flash. Many reared up and bucked their riders, and the riders that managed to stay on now had to deal with horses that were startled and confused.

"Grab whatever supplies you can," Sheik told Link amidst the chaos. As she reached for her own supplies, though, Sheik was dismayed to find that her own horse had been spooked along with the rest of them. Epona, though, had been just far enough away that she was only a bit startled—nowhere near the bucking and braying of the others. It seemed they'd have to make their getaway on Epona alone.

As bad as Sheik felt about leaving her own horse, though, she'd never formed a particular attachment, and she merely hoped that it'd be able to run away safely. For now, she and Link would have to make do with only one horse—and perhaps they'd find a way to steal another along the way.

Because there was only one horse they could use, though, Epona could only carry so many supplies. Sheik didn't bother taking along the tent, instead only bringing her sleeping roll and food—fortunately the blankets had already been tucked inside the sleeping roll. Link seemed to be thinking similarly so he didn't have a heavy load either, instead grabbing only the essentials.

There wasn't enough time to grab anything more than that as the chaos was slowly giving way to order. Link hastily mounted Epona, and Sheik was jealous of the supplies easily put onto his back, whereas she'd only had time to gather hers up in her arms.

To her surprise, though, Link took some of the supplies out of her arms then offered her a hand, hoisting her up in an instant.

As soon as she'd seated herself behind him, Link let out a loud "Hiyah!" and they were off.

* * *

They made off in a hard gallop for almost an hour before Epona finally reached her limit. Fortunately, they'd lost any possible pursuers half an hour ago, so they could afford a short break.

Though Sheik wished they could keep riding hard forever, it would do no good to ride Epona into the ground. So when Epona slowed and Link didn't push her to keep on, Sheik didn't protest. Instead, she waited for Epona to slow to a stop, then dismounted.

"Let's take her saddle off," she said, waiting for Link to dismount then quickly unburdened the horse. "It ought to cool her down faster so we can get on."

"She should have as much time to rest as she needs," Link said, though there was no real bite to his voice. Instead, he went around to stroke Epona's mane, patting her neck and whispering sweet things into her ear.

Sheik rolled her eyes but didn't press him. If Link wanted to comfort his horse, who was she to stop him?

Once the saddle was off, Sheik set it on the ground and worked on tying all the bags to it, so they wouldn't have to make a scramble for it if they were attacked again. The odds of being stopped now that dawn had passed was slim, but all the same—it didn't hurt to prepare for the worst.

When the work was done, all Sheik wanted to do was lie down in the soft grass. It was already past dawn, but they'd been roused far too early for her liking. Still, as much as she wanted to sleep, she didn't want to leave them vulnerable to another attack. After all, she was the one with magic. She couldn't leave them defenseless just because she wanted, goddesses-forbid-it, _rest_.

"Hey, Sheik?"

She looked up, tired eyes predatory and sharp for an instant before she remembered herself. Patient. She had to be patient. It wasn't Link's fault she was irritated, and she couldn't take it out on him. "Yes?"

"It's still pretty early and everything, so… While Epona rests, I think I'm gonna try to get some shut-eye. Not with a sleeping roll or anything, just the grass. Wake me when Epona's ready, though, okay?"

The unfairness of it all sent an uncomfortable twinge in her stomach. But there was no point in protesting, so she nodded, not bothering with verbal affirmation for fear that she'd snap at him. Not wanting to even look at him, she turned away and looked towards the sun, still low on the horizon.

At least it was sunny outside. The blue sky—still tinged with yellow nearest the sun—was beautiful today, and though it was early morning, it was warm enough outside that she didn't feel the bite of the wind.

A few hours passed, and finally Sheik was satisfied that Epona was rested enough to keep on. As she got up to wake Link and saddle Epona, though, she found herself saddling Epona first. Though it would have been easier with Link's help, the sight of him peacefully asleep against the grass made her hesitate.

For the life of her, Sheik didn't know why she was frozen in front of him. Her mind ran through all the possibilities, every single scenario, but she couldn't find anthing to excuse her indecision.

In the end, Sheik decided she was only waiting because she wanted to continue on without him—that she was only hesitant to wake him because part of her wanted to steal his horse and ride off without him.

Yet, even as she decided that was the truth, she knew it was just a fabrication. Sheik had too much of a conscience to steal his horse, especially if it would leave him stranded in the middle of Hyrule Field.

Why _he_ trusted her not to steal his horse, though, was beyond her.

Once Epona was saddled up and ready to go, there was no reason not to wake Link, and Sheik found that she could put it off no longer.

Sheik knelt beside him, gently shaking his shoulder till he stirred.

"We have to keep moving," Sheik said, voice uncharacteristically soft. "Get up."

Link's bleary blue eyes opened, and Sheik hastily looked away, wary of making eye-contact when unknown emotions were stirring in her. But as he started to rise, Sheik offered him a hand. It was strange, considering Sheik's aversion to touch and Link being perfectly capable of rising on his own. But Sheik decided not to think about it, instead convincing herself that she was just impatient about his slowness.

"Are you awake enough to lead?" she asked, quickly glancing away when he started to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "If you're too tired, sit behind me."

"No, no, I'm awake," he said around a yawn. "Or, uh, I will be once we start going."

As Sheik looked him over, though, she wasn't entirely convinced. "You rode earlier this morning. We'll probably have to switch off who leads Epona—I might as well get used to her now."

Though Link looked like he wanted to argue, he still looked half-asleep, so he didn't put up too much of a fight as she headed over to Epona and patted her neck. Though Sheik already missed her own horse, Epona seemed gentler, and more accustomed to having a rider. Hopefully she'd take well to Sheik leading—especially since Sheik wouldn't be able to push Epona too hard.

Once she was sure Epona was relaxed around her, she hopped up in the saddle, Link close behind her.

But the moment they were off, Sheik suddenly felt arms around her waist. Without even thinking, she turned and glared at him, eyes so venomous that Link immediately retracted his hands.

"Look, you have the reins _and_ the stirrups. I have nothing to hold onto," he said, holding his hands up in surrender nevertheless. "I'd rather not fall off, okay? I'm not used to riding in the back."

Though Sheik wanted to argue, she knew she'd at least had the saddle bags tied so that she could hold onto them early that morning. Link didn't seem to have anything at all.

Much as she wanted to rearrange the saddle bags, though, she knew it'd be a waste of time. There were worse things he could do to her.

So with gritted teeth, she turned back and held the reins tighter, trying not to make her annoyance too obvious. "Fine," she said, then let out a loud "Hiyah" to prompt Epona into motion.

Link's arms wrapped around her waist once they were in motion, and Sheik set her mind very strictly on anything but the warmth around her middle.

It was going to be a long, _long_ day.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, Link and Sheik had switched leading, and it was Link holding the reins—with Sheik's hands reluctantly gripping his loose tunic. But as they traveled deeper into the southern hills of Hyrule Field, and closer to a small town called Oxon, the smell of smoke permeated the air.

"Do you smell that?" Link finally asked, turning and looking at Sheik, who nodded. "It's getting stronger."

There was a feel of enchantment in the air, and Sheik was reminded all too strongly of her encounter in Ardock. Just as she was debating whether or not to tell Link to start a different route, though, she spotted smoke rising just over the horizon.

"It's coming from that direction," Link said. "Goddesses, it looks like it's a fire big enough to take out a whole _town_ …"

"I don't see anyone on the roads," Sheik said. "I wonder if anyone came this way, or they evacuated further south…"

"If there really are people fleeing, they'd go north. The wind is going south," Link said, frowning. "It's strange that there's no one coming this way…"

"The fire might be old. People have probably already evacuated to the nearest town. I think Emery is just a few miles east." Sheik recalled the desolate state of Ardock, and how people had apparently been absent for over a week before she even stumbled upon it. There was a good chance that the people were already gone.

Link shook his head. "If a fire that big was an old fire, wouldn't it have spread already?"

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, the magical energy in the air only getting stronger as they approached. "…We really ought to be going on to Ecchar…"

"This town isn't very far out of our way, Sheik," Link said. "If there are people there, then they need help. If there aren't, then we pass on through, it's as simple as that."

"And if we try to help and get trapped inside a burning building?"

"Then I'm sure you have some kind of magical Sheikah power that can get us out of there. C'mon, Sheik. We _have_ to help them. We might be the only ones who can," Link said. Without waiting for her to confirm or deny it, Link pushed Epona faster towards the town on fire.

When they came over the hill, though, Sheik's suspicions were confirmed. This was no ordinary fire.

The town's greeting sign, a simple, 'Welcome to Oxon,' was the only thing about the town that wasn't contained in a perfect ring of fire.

"There isn't an exit," Link said, eyes wide as he slowed Epona to a stop and tied her to a post just outside the city. "Sheik—there might be people trapped inside!"

Sheik nodded grimly. At least in Ardock, there hadn't been barriers, so no one had been prevented from leaving…

"Can you—do you have something that can break us through?" Link asked. "Something like that flash of light last night? You're a Sheikah, you have to have _something_ that can help."

Never in Sheik's life had she wished to be a true Sheikah more—but what could she do? She could change her eye color, and create a flash of light so long as she had Deku Nuts, and she had some defensive spells, sure, but…

"Ice," Sheik suddenly said. "Ice. I'm not very good with elemental spells, but I can do ice." Now, fire she couldn't do to save her life, else she might have used it back in Ardock—but ice was easy to do because it required tight control, whereas fire required raw energy and emotion. "We might be able to break through the ring of fire for long enough to get in and evacuate people. I can't guarantee you anything, though."

"As long as we try," Link said, grim determination in his voice.

It took a few moments for Sheik to rein in any lingering emotions she might have had, but once she did, the ice came easily to her fingertips. With careful hands, she approached the fire, channeling more and more of the element from her fingertips. Even for just a few seconds it was draining, and she could feel sweat on her brow from exertion.

Soon, though, a passage through the flames was visible—just wide enough for the pair of them to go through if they hurried.

"It's working," Link encouraged, passing through the barrier with Sheik quick on his heels. "I'll head on inside and see if I can find some people to evacuate."

"I don't have enough power to hold it that long," Sheik said, releasing her spell as soon as they were inside. "We'll have to just break the curse on this place if we want to save anyone."

Link stopped in his tracks, confusion on his face. "But—But you're a _Sheikah_. Surely you have the power to—"

"My mentor died before she could teach me everything," Sheik snapped. "If you want to save these people, we have to find what this curse is radiating from and destroy it."

"What curse?"

"Do you honestly think that fire forms a perfect circular wall from nothing?" Sheik shook her head, looking around. "And all the buildings… they're burning, but nothing's collapsed. Even the smoke…"

"It's breathable," Link said, furrowing his brows. "…This fire isn't meant to kill anyone, then."

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, gently moving her hand over a flame. But, just as she'd feared, it possessed the same ability to hurt as the ice had in Ardock. "It must have been meant to either keep people in, or to keep people out—or both+," she said. "This is complicated magic, Link—something powerful has cast this."

"But you managed to break through the barrier—"

"It takes a lot of energy to use countermagic, Link—arguably more than to use magic in the first place." Seeing Link's confusion, Sheik tried to explain in a simpler way. "If you try to break through an already established spell, it's an uphill battle. If I just had to freeze something, it wouldn't be a big deal, but trying to freeze magical fire? It can only be done for a short time before the person casting the counterspell runs out of magical energy."

Link frowned, looking around. "Well," he finally said. "We're already here. And you said that the curse was radiating from something—what's it radiating from, then?"

Sheik recalled the statue in Ardock's City Square, and how it was essentially in the middle of the city. And, considering this was a _ring_ of fire blocking the city off…

"We have to get to the exact center of the city," she decided, starting towards one of the main roads of the city. "If this is a circular barrier, then whatever's casting it is probably at the center."

" _Whatever_ is casting it?" Link asked, hurrying beside her. "You mean a _creature_ is responsible?"

"Maybe even a person. I don't know, Link, it's not like I've seen what it is. Lots of things have magical energy, and for all I know a sorcerer just bewitched an object and left it here in the center of town. I don't know."

As they traveled down the main road to the center of the city, Link's questions finally wound down. However, the closer to the center they got, the hotter it got, and Sheik found herself dizzy from the heat the same way she'd been numb from the cold in Ardock.

Though the smoke wasn't hurting them, it seemed this heat could do some pretty serious damage if they lingered much longer.

"I don't want to think what might have happened to the people if they're still here," Link said grimly, looking into the buildings for any sign of survivors.

This town seemed just as deserted as Ardock, though, and for that, Sheik was grateful. Even though they'd come to evacuate anyone still trapped inside, knowing what they might have found if there was anyone inside… Sheik would rather have come here for nothing than to see the remains of Oxon's citizens.

Soon, though, they approached the center, and it was just as hot as Ardock's center had been cold. This was about the limit of what she and Link could withstand, she was sure—so they'd have to make this fast.

"What's the object at the center here," Link said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Would it be big or small…?"

"Big," Sheik decided, then looked up. A water-tower loomed over them, and Sheik could feel the magic radiating from it—in a way even stronger than the magic that had been coming from the statue in Ardock. The cold had numbed her so thoroughly that she'd scarcely been able to feel anything—but here, she could feel energy being channeled from it.

Link followed her line of vision, then started towards the water-tower. "We have to destroy that thing, then?"

"Careful," Sheik said, running after him all the same. "It might have some kind of guardian."

"Right." Link shook his head, a bitter laugh on his voice. "It couldn't be that easy, right?"

Once they came to the water-tower, though, Sheik's fears were realized. No sooner than they'd approached it and laid a hand on the tower had a figure appeared from the flames of the house beside it—and it was made of flames, itself.

"Well," Link started, standing next to Sheik and drawing a short-sword from the sheath on his back, "It's probably a good thing there are two of us, then."

"Do you want to destroy the water-tower, or fend this thing off?" Sheik pulled her katana from its place on her back, grateful for the wrappings on her hand so she didn't have to feel the heat of the metal.

While Link was deciding, though, the beast of fire lunged at the pair, and they dived separate ways. Sheik ended up closer to the water-tower, so she figured there was only one thing to do.

"Keep it busy, I'll take the tower," she yelled, pleased to find that Link was already locked in combat.

While Link fought it back, Sheik tried to hurry, slashing away at the water-tower then kicking at the weakened legs. Unfortunately, this seemed to take much longer than the statue of ice. If she didn't have Link with her to fight off the monster, Sheik wasn't sure if she ever would have been able to take this out alone.

She'd just managed to finish off one the four legs supporting it when she heard Link cry out. "I don't—suppose—you'll be finishing with that water-tower any time soon?"

"I'm hurrying," Sheik shouted, slashing away even faster. In her peripheral, she could see Link fighting, just as strong as before, but the monster seemed to have increased in size. "Tell me if you need to switch, or—"

"I can _handle it_ ," Link snapped. "Just hurry up with the tower. I think breaking the legs makes it bigger."

Sheik didn't say a word, instead just focusing on taking out another leg. She'd have to balance it, else it might tip and she wouldn't be able to reach the side it tipped away from. So she ran to the opposite side and kicked it in. It seemed to go a bit faster than the first—perhaps the beast growing stronger had weakened the protective magic on the water-tower?

As the second leg crumbled, Sheik glanced at the monster again, and found it to be even bigger than before. At this rate, Link would be fighting something as big as a house by the time she finished. But if taking down the water-tower was the only way to defeat the beast, she'd just have to trust that Link could handle it.

"It's going to tip after this one," Sheik said, running to another side and hacking away at the metal. "If we time it right, the fall might break the rest of the tower—"

"Just hurry," Link shouted, breathless and clearly out of patience as he took on the monster. "It's going to melt my sword if we keep on much longer!"

Sheik nodded, and, with a prayer to the Three, finished off the third leg. Just as she'd hoped, the water-tower tipped backwards, away from Link and the water-tower's guardian spirit. Sheik dove out of the way, landing hard on the ground as she heard the explosion behind her.

And then, everything reversed.

Though the water-tower had just exploded, all the fire within and surrounding Oxon suddenly rose up and retreated back into the water-tower, vanishing inside it without a trace of damage to the town.

Sheik wiped the sweat from her brow and stood onto shaky legs, feeling a bit of vertigo as the heat vanished so suddenly. But her vertigo was nowhere near as strong as Link's, it seemed, who was hunched over on the ground, leaning on his sword.

"Link?" Sheik called, hurrying to his side. With the way he needed the support of his sword, Sheik feared the worst. As she inspected him over, her fears were confirmed, finding that his garments had been burned away on his side, leaving a bad burn on his skin underneath. "Oh, goddesses—"

"It's not that bad," Link said, looking up with a forced smile. "Red potion might be nice, though. There was some in the saddle-bags, I think—"

"One of these houses probably has some," Sheik said. Not wanting to see him strain himself any longer, she helped him onto the ground, mindful of the bad burn on his side, and the few other patches on his clothes and skin that had been singed away. "I'll be right back."

To her surprise, Link didn't protest the stealing, instead just nodding and tightly controlling his breathing.

Sheik wasted no time searching the houses nearby, and fortunately the second she came to had a vat of it in their icebox. Considering they had an icebox, she figured they were a rather wealthy house, so she didn't stop herself from raiding the jewelry box in the biggest bedroom, finding a few items of value inside. Though she would hate to hear what Link might say if he found them, Link wasn't there right then, and Sheik had no intention of letting him see.

So she hurried out, swiping a bottle and filling it to the top with red potion. When Sheik rushed out, Link was just where she'd left him, gritting his teeth and shielding his side from the hot summer wind.

"Drink," Sheik said, and held the bottle to his lips. It was warm, so the consistency was thinner than red potions were supposed to be, but it'd do the job.

Once he'd finished, Link made a face, but the potion was already working no matter Link's protests. Though it couldn't heal mortal wounds, it sped up the process of scar tissue formation, and left even the most serious of injuries little more than scabs.

And, sure enough, Link's skin was already closing up again, a reddish-pink tissue forming over it, with the black of a new scab hiding it soon after it had stitched back together.

With Link patched up and the city back to a normal temperature, there was nothing stopping them from continuing onwards. But Sheik could feel the exhaustion creeping in from the lack of sleep last night and the day's work—not to mention the tension already forming in her muscles and the drain of using so much magic.

Though Sheik knew the mission took priority over her tiredness, she also knew that if they got into a pinch, she needed to be able to use magic to protect them. So she grudgingly looked back to the house nearest them, irritated with herself for even needing some rest. "I'd like an hour or so," she started, looking away in her embarrassment, "To get energy back from the magic I used. Rest up in one of the houses while you wait."

Link seemed to have no qualms about it, and so Sheik led him inside one of the houses, letting him rest on one of the couches as he recovered.

Before she left, though, she remembered all too well that she'd have to sit on a horse with him for the rest of the day, and he smelled of sweat and ash. Though she knew she'd be draining her magic energy even more, she cast a brief cleaning spell on him before she left.

For a moment, she feared that she'd overtaxed herself and that her glamour had faded, but to her relief, it was right where it always needed to be. So she found a bath upstairs, ran the water, and prayed that an hour would be enough for her sore muscles to relax and her energy to replenish.

* * *

 **((Again, sorry this one took so long—but on the bright side, it's longer than any other chapter so far, so at least you got a bit more content here than usual. And hey, Link and Sheik are really working together as a team now, so there's that?**

 **As always, thank you so much for your support! I look forward to seeing your reactions to this chapter, so please, if you like this fic, review!))**


	9. Chapter 9

Though the bath eased some of her soreness, Sheik only felt slightly less drained when she emerged. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to sleep for the rest of the day, but that wasn't an option. She still had her pride, and admitting that she needed to rest would be too much to bear. Besides—if they wanted to keep a low enough profile to keep searching for the missing girls, they couldn't let anyone find out that they'd saved this town.

So after her hour was up, she forced herself out of the water. Sheik had a job to do, after all, and she couldn't let her weariness hold her back.

However, as she rose from the water, she realized all too despairingly that, after she'd washed her suit, she'd have to use even more magic to dry it. She was already pushing it as it was, but they had to keep moving. She couldn't be the one to slow them down.

Once she was finished, she leaned heavily against the wall, suit still half damp, but it'd have to do. If she spent any more of her magic, she wouldn't be able to even keep up her glamour.

As she remembered her glamour, though, she realized with a start that it felt faded. One look in the bathroom's mirror confirmed it, and she looked up at herself with dread.

Her eyes were violet.

It wasn't as bad as the pure blue it had faded to, at times, but it wouldn't do. Especially with it flickering as it was—if Link noticed it shifting, he'd have to realize that it was being altered. He'd realize that her red eyes were fake—that she wasn't a real Sheikah.

Goddesses, she'd really pushed it this time.

Cleaning and drying and flash and glamour spells were taxing enough as it was—but elemental spells were the worst. But having done all five in a day? She couldn't remember having used up this magic all at once since she was a child.

But she couldn't afford Link noticing her eyes. So she summoned up the last of the day's energy to reapply her glamour—stronger, this time—and prayed that it would last.

Girls were depending on her, after all—and Sheik wasn't about to let go of the life she'd worked so hard to build for herself, either. It _had_ to hold.

As she descended down into the house's main quarters, Sheik leaned heavily on the stairs' railing, teeth gritted as she supported herself. She couldn't be bothered whether or not Link was watching, she told herself, but when she noticed his eyes on her, Sheik instinctively straightened up.

"What're you looking at?" she snapped. Though her temper was always short, given the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel aggravated, even if Link wasn't the cause. "Get up. We have to get going."

Link got up, but before Sheik could feel any small gratitude, he headed for her instead of the door. "Sheik," he said, brows furrowed with an all-too-concerned expression. "You look terrible."

"I could say the same to you," she said. It was true enough; his clothes had been charred away in several places, and through those patches she could still see the scabbed aftermath of the fire beast. "We have to leave, though, so I don't think it matters much. We'll stop for camp in a few hours, it'll be fine."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Link stood in front of her, blocking her path to the door. "This town is a hell of a lot better than sleeping on the road. Why can't we just call it a day for now and set out tomorrow?"

"Those girls need people finding them sooner rather than later," Sheik snapped. "And if we ever want to keep a low enough profile to find them, we can't get caught here."

"Caught?"

"We saved this town from a curse," Sheik said, anger blazing in her eyes even if she hardly felt strong enough to stand. "If people come back and we're here, what are they going to think? They're going to realize that we were the ones that broke the curse, and they'll talk about us. Whoever is setting these curses will probably come after us, and then we'll be fighting to save our own skin—there won't be a chance of finding those girls if we have to spend all our time hiding in the shadows."

"We don't even have a solid lead, Sheik. Rushing around like this is pointless," Link said. "I don't know what magic runs on, exactly, but if you're out cold when bandits strike again, we won't have a chance of getting out of there."

"And if the people come back to this town early while we're wasting time?"

"Then we pretend to be bandits, or investigators of the king— _something_. I don't know, Sheik—all I know is that you look awful right now." He put a hand on her shoulder, frowning when Sheik instinctively knocked it away. "I get that you don't trust me. Really, I do. But we're kind of in this together now, aren't we? We only have one horse, and we've both lost supplies, and we've got a common goal. If either of us want to find the princess and the rest of the missing girls, we have to work together. There's no need to argue like this."

"There is when we have a conflict in interests," Sheik snapped. "I'll be _just fine_ riding for the rest of the day. It's _my_ choice, got it? So unless _you_ can't ride for some reason, then I suggest we head out."

Link's lips pressed in a thin line, and Sheik could see the indecision in his eyes. But after a long moment passed between them, he finally sighed and moved out of her way.

There was an uncomfortable distance between them as they made their way back to Epona, but Sheik was grateful for it. Though she felt like she could fall at any moment, she kept herself upright out of spite, and soon enough they arrived by the horse's side.

To Sheik's eternal displeasure, though, Link hopped up in the saddle before Sheik could claim it.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Link cut her off. "She had to watch as we disappeared inside a city on fire, and we've left her in the sun for hours. She's spooked, and she's more comfortable with me. I'm leading."

Sheik didn't protest, though she couldn't help but feel as though he was spiting her.

So she carefully climbed on behind him, hating that she had to touch him in order to stay on.

As the miles passed, though, and the hot sun beat down on Sheik's back, and Epona's galloping fell into a comfortable repetition, she felt her grip on consciousness fade. It was too much energy to stay awake.

As she drifted off, face finding a pillow of Link's shoulder, she couldn't help but wonder if this had been his plan all along.

* * *

When Sheik awoke, it was dark.

The sun hadn't fully set, but it was low on the horizon, its crest just barely peeking over the western mountains.

It took Sheik a moment to grasp her bearings, though, as she opened her eyes—as always, checking to make sure her glamour was in place—and looked at the world around her. The scenery had changed from the bright green of Hyrule's main fields to the slightly deeper, browner color of Ordon Province and onwards. The forest was even visible, misty and far-off in the distance, but nevertheless approaching.

Even in her just-waking state, she could estimate that it would be just under two days before they reached Ecchar.

However, as she came to, she realized that she was leaning against something—or rather, someone.

Sheik sat upright with a start, shame coloring her cheeks as she pushed away.

As she'd moved so suddenly, and her weight against Link's back had disappeared, there was no helping it when Link turned to check on her. Sheik was ashamed to realize that he seemed poised to catch her, as if he was worried she'd fall off the horse.

But when he looked at her face and realized that she was not only awake, but also looked supremely embarrassed and angry with herself, he was quick to turn back around. "We should set up camp tonight," he said, and there wasn't a trace of irritation in his voice. There wasn't placating gentleness, either, which Sheik was more grateful for—he didn't try to belittle her at all.

Goddesses, she'd half expected him to mock her for falling asleep on him.

But instead, he'd acted as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Was it worse, Sheik wondered, that he almost seemed to have expected it? But if he wasn't bringing it up, that meant she didn't have to, either, and she was more than happy to ignore it and put it behind them.

Still, as much as she wanted to act ordinary, she couldn't find the words to agree with his suggestion. Sheik found herself stuck in a shameful silence, like a guilty child who couldn't admit they'd done wrong even when they'd been caught.

So when he turned around, as if asking for her approval or disapproval, it was all Sheik could manage to nod.

Link's expression was unreadable, less because of the darkness and more because of how foreign this man was to her. The longer they traveled together, the more Sheik was realizing that she didn't know the first thing about Link.

She knew about their interactions together, of course—and that Ilia's story was deeply connected with Link's, meaning that he probably had been a street-rat most of his growing-up years, too. But aside from that, and that he had enough honor and personal responsibility to help her look for the missing girls, Sheik knew nothing about him.

The thing that surprised her most, though, was that she was starting to want to.

Yet, even as she wanted to ask him about his life, about who he was, Sheik couldn't find a single word. So they came to a stop a few miles later, and it was perfectly silent between them as they each set up their bedrolls and blankets.

Before Sheik could get back to sleep, though, she heard Link's voice cut through the darkness.

"We should stock up on supplies in Ecchar," he said. "If we find some smaller bottles, we can keep red potion on us so we don't have to worry about going all the way back to Epona to get it."

As much as Sheik wanted to ignore him, wanted to curl up and go to sleep, she knew she couldn't end the day like this. So she nodded, voice stiff and formal, but present all the same. "That," she started, trying her damndest to sound pleasant. "That's probably a good idea."

Link nodded and bid her a quiet "Goodnight."

Sheik wondered, as she laid there, when the last time she'd heard that word was.

But she returned it all the same, a strange ache in her heart. She found she couldn't even be facing him as she said it, instead having to turn over away from him before she could even manage those two little syllables. "Goodnight."

* * *

The next two days passed in relative silence, but Sheik was grateful that no arguments broke out—and more importantly, that no bandits or imperiled towns hindered them.

However, as Ecchar stretched before them, Link finally spoke up.

"So now that we're here, what exactly _is_ the plan? Look for leads?"

"The man that threatened Ilia might still be here," Sheik said. "He's my primary target. But, yes, if we find any lead, I'll be glad to take it."

"What if he's just one of those—those things we fought back at Telma's?" Link asked. "They looked human, but they turned out to just be magic."

Sheik frowned, realizing that she hadn't even considered the possibility. Though she'd sensed the magic of the creatures they'd fought at Telma's, they'd been in a large group. Individually, they hadn't given off near as much of a magical signature—and Sheik had been otherwise occupied with incapacitating him and running away at the time to think about it.

"Then I guess we'll figure it out if we find him," she said. "Till then, we split up once we get to town and find our way from there."

"Wait, wait—Split up?" Link asked. He turned to look at her, eyes wide with alarm. "Sheik, what if we can't find each other again?"

"We can rent rooms at the same inn, then," Sheik said, "And rendezvous at the end of the night."

Link bit his lip, indecision clear in his eyes. "I'm not sure about this… I mean, it's already not long till sunset, so it'll be dark by the time we do much of anything… Are you sure fighting in the dark is a good idea?"

"Dark or not, you have your sword, and I saw you take on plenty of those things back at Telma's. You'll be fine." From the look in his eye, though, Sheik could tell it wasn't himself he was worried about. A scowl came onto Sheik's face before she could stop it. " _I'll_ be fine, too. Last time I was here I saved Ilia, or are you forgetting that?"

"I know, I know but—Sheik, you're still a girl. Anyone with eyes and ears can figure it out pretty easily. And they're looking for girls with blonde hair and blue eyes… and you already fit one of those criteria. I hear they're expanding their search, too—what's to stop them from coming after you?"

Sheik grit her teeth. "I've managed just fine up till now. I can handle myself."

Link didn't look wholly convinced, but they both knew this could turn into an argument if they didn't head it off now. So he sighed and shook his head. "We have to get supplies anyways. How about we get supplies first, and if we both find a lead, then we split up? Otherwise we search together?"

As much as Sheik wanted to argue just to force her own way, she forced that urge down deep inside. It would do no good antagonizing him just for argument's sake. "There are enough girls going missing that we'll probably find at least one lead each, if we both keep our eyes and ears open." she said. "But fine. Supplies first."

Link's expression immediately brightened, and Sheik hated that even the smallest trace of agreeableness from her could cause such a reaction.

Even if he did think she was a Sheikah—someone actually worthy of admiration—then there was still no reason for him to act like that around her. Goddesses, she didn't know what was worse: that she was so disagreeable that even this small thing could get him to smile like that, or that he wanted her approval so badly in the first place.

She decided on the latter, though not without a twinge of guilt.

Sheik wasn't sure if being kinder to him would kill her or not, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try.

"Let's just figure out which tavern to stay at and start getting supplies already," Sheik said, voice low with irritation. "Okay?"

Link nodded, that damn smile still on his face. "Okay."

* * *

"You two look like you've been through it," the innkeeper said, sympathy clear on her face. "You stayin' for long?"

"Just a night," Sheik said, sliding over money before Link could protest. "When do most of the markets close?"

"Oh, just before sunset. You two oughta head out soon, before it closes. Else you'll never make it on time to get those clothes of yours fixed," she said, looking at Link. "There's a tailor just up the road if you want to get it mended. Mind, it'll take a while before it's finished, especially since they're burned, not torn, but…"

Link—seeming to sense Sheik's hurry to be done with the transaction—just smiled at the innkeeper. "I'm sure I can just find something new at the market," he reassured her. "Thank you."

The innkeeper smiled, waving the pair off when Sheik turned and started for the door.

"I probably ought to get a new tunic, come to think of it," Link said. "You said you wanted to keep a low profile, right? Hard to do that when I'm wearing clothes that are burned through."

"So find a new tunic, then," Sheik said. "I'll get what we need."

"But—"

"It's faster this way, anyways."

"The whole point of going to the market was to stick together while we can," Link said. "If we split up, then—"

"Just go get a new one, it's not that difficult," Sheik said. "If you hurry, we can get the rest of the supplies together."

Link frowned. "But this is _Ecchar_ , Sheik. And it's more dangerous now than ever. What if—"

"Nothing is going to happen to me," she snapped, thoroughly losing her cool. No matter how much she wanted to be kinder, Link was testing her patience, and Sheik had little enough of it as it was. "And talking about it in public and drawing attention to me will only make it worse."

Without another word, she turned on her heel, grateful when Link didn't pursue.

Still, to dissuade him further, she slipped into the crowd, nimble feet gaining her passage through even the heaviest of traffic.

It didn't take long before she was in the crowded city market, rupees in hand more than enough to pay for supplies. Bottles were expensive, after all—especially the nigh-indestructible type they so sorely needed.

Not to mention the rope they'd lost, and some of the food, and blankets. Sheik at least had her cloak still in her bag, but she wasn't sure how cold this winter would be. With all the strange happenings in Hyrule, she knew it might be best to have a few extra blankets.

But just as she was finishing paying for four warm blankets, she felt a broad hand on her shoulder.

She froze on instinct, realizing all too late that she felt a strong magical signature coming from this man—lost in the crowd before, but now all too urgent.

Sheik kept her head, clutching the blankets tight against her chest. She turned around and stared the man in the face, moving out of the way of the line. Putting on her deepest voice, she asked, "Can I help you?"

The man squinted at her, gaze hardening. "You look… _feminine_ …"

"I get that a lot," Sheik snapped. "Now unless you have business with me, I suggest you let me go."

"Most feminine looking boys know to keep an escort with them just in case," he said. "'Specially with that blonde hair of yours…"

The man moved his hand up to run through her hair, and Sheik knocked his hand away without thinking about it. "Do _not_ touch me," she said. "Now if you're done gawking, I suggest—"

"You a traveler, pretty boy?" the man asked, and Sheik had never once felt less like she was talking to a person. In a way, she supposed she wasn't, if this was truly just an illusion that would turn to dust once killed. And as much as she wanted to turn this creature into dust, Sheik couldn't risk it in public. Not if she wasn't fighting for her life. "'Cause most people from around here know better by now."

He leaned closer, and Sheik tensed her posture, ready to make a break for it if need be.

"They know to keep male friends close…"

The man moved closer, and Sheik backed up, only to find a wall behind her.

"Or to stay inside unless it's life and death…"

He pressed a hand against the wall by Sheik's head.

"And they certainly know," he said, moving his hand up once more to run through Sheik's long blonde hair. "To at least dye their damn hair."

The hand by her head suddenly moved, and Sheik realized with a start that he planned to knock her out. Whether or not he thought she was a boy didn't matter—she looked feminine enough to be a woman, and thus was still worth going after.

Sheik reacted instinctively, ducking out of the way of his hand and fleeing through the opening between his hand and leg. Blankets still in her arms, she ran through the market, nimble footsteps granting her passage once more.

But gracefulness could only get her so far when the man chasing her was big enough to clear a path well in advance.

If she wanted to survive, she needed to find a disguise, and fast.

Praying that the crowds were thick enough to lose the man even for a moment, Sheik ducked down at the thickest traffic and prayed that her glamour would be strong enough to draw attention away from her.

When she allowed herself to come back up, her head was covered with deep red hair, and her skin was caramel like that of the Gerudo. There wasn't much she could do with her clothes, but she changed the shades of blues to red, and prayed that it would be enough.

And, as she reached the other side of the street, where traffic wasn't so heavy, she saw that the man was still searching fruitlessly within the crowd.

Sheik turned the corner and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.

It was exhausting to hold a glamour for longer than she needed—especially when she already had her eye glamour to uphold—but if it was to save her life, Sheik found that she had more than enough energy to allow her to hold it and run at the same time.

Still, she ducked into the first tavern she saw.

A few heads turned towards her, but since it was after sunset, not many found her presence too remarkable. So she closed her eyes and headed for a spare room, thanking all three goddesses when she found it empty. She slipped inside and locked the door, dropping to the ground just as soon as she was well and truly alone.

She let her suit change back first, as outfit glamours took by far the most energy. Her skin was next, fading from warm caramel to the cool light brown of her natural skin. Her hair, the last to go, she hesitated with. It had been a dead-giveaway when she was in the crowd, so it wouldn't be wise to allow it to fade back to her natural color.

But what else could she do?

It would be too taxing to keep up a glamour of that magnitude for long, and she still needed to get back to the inn if she was going to find Link again. She supposed she'd just have to keep it up for long enough to hurry back to the inn, then let it drop before she was too tired to maintain it.

The red was too strange against her skin if she wasn't posing as a Gerudo, though, so Sheik allowed it to drop, just for a moment, before she altered it once more, a dark brown replacing the pale blonde.

With so many glamours having been applied and changed in the last few minutes, Sheik felt dizzy as she stood, but the sooner she returned to the inn, the better. Not wanting her clothes to be recognized, she carefully took one of the blankets and fashioned it as a cloak around her, never-minding the heat of the day lingering on into the night.

She could only pray that as she started off into the shadows, that the man following her wouldn't find her on her way.

* * *

It took ages of backtracking and sticking to the shadows, but finally, Sheik made it back to the inn she and Link were staying at. She could only hope he was already back as she used her key to get into their room. She hoped he hadn't gotten lost in the crowd or hurt—that would mean she'd have to go after him and find him, and she wasn't sure if she had the energy to do that.

To her pleasant surprise, though, Link was waiting on the edge of the bed, eyes trained on the window.

When he heard the door click shut behind him, he turned to face her, relief on his face for only a moment—because when she pulled the blanket off of her, his face suddenly morphed into confusion. And, if Sheik was being honest with herself, he even looked a little afraid.

Link scrambled back in an instant, back hitting the wall behind him. Even from where she stood, Sheik could practically hear his racing heart..

"H—Hil," he started, voice dying before he could even finish the word. It sounded like a name, though, and Sheik couldn't understand why he'd mistake her so easiy.

"Link," Sheik said, furrowing her brows. "It's _me_."

As soon as he heard her voice, the fear melted off of his face, but there was still a hesitation about him—and certainly confusion. "…Sheik?"

She didn't have time to wonder at his reaction, though, because having used up so much magic in such a short amount of time left her feeling absolutely spent. It was all she could do to drop the dark-haired glamour before she was thoroughly drained. Sheik leaned heavily against the wall, not wanting to hold herself up any longer.

As she rested there, though, Link stared at her, and she was dimly aware of his footsteps towards her.

"S…Sorry," he managed, voice nothing like its normal, smooth tone. If anything, he _still_ sounded scared, even now that she'd removed the glamour on her hair. Still, he was brave enough to reach a hand towards her, offering a hand. "You just—I thought, with… And it's _Ecchar_ , so I just… I thought…"

Whatever he'd thought, though, Sheik didn't find out, because Link cut himself off after that. He shook his head, then took hold of her hand whether she wanted it or not.

In an instant, he helped her up and led her to one of the room's beds, not looking as she removed her mask and scarf and let her hair down.

"Tomorrow, we get supplies and ask around town. I saw very few girls in the marketplace—they're either gone or hiding at home. Ecchar is nothing like it was when I was here a few weeks ago," she managed, shaking her head. "I think we'll find plenty of leads, though. But it'll have to be tomorrow. I can't go out again tonight. Not like this."

"Yeah," Link said, voice still lacking its usual strength. Sheik thought for a moment to ask, but before she could, he excused himself, stepping into the room's restroom and closing the door behind him.

Sheik didn't have the energy to pursue him. Whatever he was dealing with, he'd have to handle on his own—especially if he wouldn't talk to her about it.

So Sheik stripped herself of her outer armor and crawled under the sheets in her navy bodysuit. She fell asleep before she ever heard the bathroom door open again, though she supposed he must have come back eventually.

* * *

Neither of them mentioned the previous night when they went out for supplies the next day. The only remark Link made, in fact, was that Sheik ought to make her hair grey rather than blonde.

Sheik had wondered what he had against dark hair, but she'd kept her thoughts to herself, and instead focused on maintaining her glamour and finding supplies around the town. At least she had Link with her, this time. Though she wished she would have been able to purchase everything last night, it would have been unwise to continue alone after the altercation she'd had with that monster of a man.

Fortunately, Link had spared her pride. He'd simply come along, making no inquiries as to why she'd come back in such a rush last night.

In fact, it seemed to Sheik that he was all too eager to forget last night had ever happened.

But she wasn't one to pry. Link's business was his own, and from what she knew of his history (a la Ilia), she was sure he had plenty of reasons to behave the way he had. Part of her was curious, of course—especially because they'd seen plenty of dark haired people in Ecchar and he hadn't so much as flinched. But Sheik had bigger things to worry about.

Like when and where they were finally going to find a lead.

However, as luck would have it—and Sheik thanked the Three for their luck—shortly after they returned their newfound supplies to their room at the inn, they found a lead.

It had been just outside a tavern, only moments before Sheik was going to suggest splitting up.

But, sure enough, as they walked together towards the eastern side of the city, they heard hushed voices coming from the alleyway beside one of the busier taverns.

"—a good look at the people who took her?"

Sheik was quick to turn and pull Link behind her, staying far out of sight of the men, though she kept her ears trained on them. Soon they'd have to move or risk drawing attention by staying still on a street as busy as this, but for now…

"Tall. Broad. The usual, Jaggle. I just… We were so careful. I don't understand…"

"I hear they're raiding homes now. Nothing is too far for these people." There was a pause for a moment, and Sheik hardly dared to breathe, Link silent as the grave beside her. But finally, the voice picked back up. "We can put together a search party for your sister if you'd like. But I can't guarantee anything. You know that, Coro."

"Anything is better than trying to find her alone," the man said. "Thank you."

The men soon parted ways, but Sheik made no effort to follow them, instead restraining Link when he attempted to track the one that had been called 'Coro.' But she had a plan—and that plan didn't involve talking to him immediately. No, they'd follow some distance behind and see where this man lived. Then they could talk to him privately, without worrying about anyone watching a strange, secret meeting in the middle of the street.

Sheik leaned closer to Link, lips close to his ear. "I think," she whispered, "We've just found our first lead. Let's follow him, shall we?"

* * *

 **This took forever to finish, and I'm very sorry about that. Plus this week is Zelink week, and I've been writing and drawing several pieces for that… Sorry this took so long to make. However, as always, your reviews mean a lot to me! Shoutout to Philip Harbindinger, 11lol11, zelonk, guest, and Suz24! I appreciate you reviewing last chapter!**

 **So, what's with Link? Why'd he panic when he saw Sheik's dark hair? Will they have success with this lead? Will Sheik ever warm up to her partner? Tell me what you think about those questions and others in the reviews—and, as always, see you next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

In a city as crime-ridden as Ecchar, no one took much notice of Link and Sheik. Undisturbed, they walked through the streets, some distance behind Coro. Even if anyone noticed they were following him, no one stopped the pair. If anything, people tended to clear out of the way.

Perhaps they made an odd pair, a Sheikah and a teenage boy armed with a sword.

In fact—Sheik couldn't help but raise a brow as she looked him over. Of all colors for him to choose for his new tunic to be, he'd chosen green? Was he unaware of the connection of green to the legendary hero?

With how so many things were going wrong in the world, didn't he realize people might think he was a new hero?

So much for keeping a low profile…

But, then again, it wasn't like Sheik was keeping a particularly low profile with her Sheikah ensemble. She supposed she couldn't blame Link if they drew attention—not when she was drawing enough on her own.

"How are we going to get inside once he gets home?" Link asked, leaning over to whisper in Sheik's ear. "I can't imagine he'd be fond of letting strangers in."

"If he doesn't let us in, I'm not opposed to forcing it."

Link pulled away, staring at her with wide eyes. "You'd do _what_?"

Sheik huffed, looking away. "Only if he won't let us in. He sounded desperate, and we're trying to help. So long as we tell him that, he should listen to us." Not liking that Link was still staring at her, she turned back towards him, an almost petulant expression on her face. "And it's not like I'd ask you to do the breaking-in. If it bothers you so much, you don't have to do it."

Though Link looked far too relieved at her explanation, he still shook his head. "No, no, I'll help if I need to." He bit his cheek, looking indecisive only for a moment before he added, "Hopefully we won't need to, though."

Coro suddenly looked both ways behind him then turned a corner, and Sheik and Link hung back to avoid being detected.

"He's worried about being followed," Sheik said, furrowing her brows. "His sister's already been kidnapped…"

"He might have another sister. Or his sister was kidnapped from home," Link said. "If he's checking now, though…"

"Then he probably doesn't want visitors," Sheik finished. "Well. This might get interesting."

Link peered his head out of the corner, watching just long enough to see Coro dip inside a house, presumably locking the door behind him. When Sheik alternated with Link to look into the street, she could make out the man's outline against the window.

He was keeping watch.

He almost certainly had another sister, Sheik realized. There was no other reason he'd be standing guard like that.

"He's definitely defending _someone_ ," Sheik said, looking over at Link with a frown. "I doubt he'll open up. And if he made a deal with someone earlier, then he probably has friends in the city. If he starts yelling…"

"You're a Sheikah, aren't you?" Link asked, raising a brow. "Isn't there a way to—I don't know. You guys are known for being shadow-folk, right? Can't you just sneak in?"

Sheik pursed her lips, grateful that her mask hid the expression she was making. At this point, she was getting quite tired of having to prove that she was a Sheikah. Magic was difficult to do, after all, and it was still a wonder how she had it in the first place.

Especially magic that was almost exclusively known to the Sheikah, and carried exclusively through blood.

But she'd deal with that later. For now, she had a job to do, didn't she?

"I… know how to silence the space around the house," she said, closing her eyes to think. "I was never taught how to make myself invisible, though. If we could get around the house and break in through the back, I could silence the area around it long enough to explain that we're trying to help."

Link nodded, though he looked somewhat conflicted. "How can we get behind the house, though? This is a one-way alley."

At that, though, Sheik smiled. "No alley is ever really one-way," she said. At his confusion, her smile turned a little more wild, the corners of her eyes pulling up with it. "Have you ever traveled by rooftop before?"

* * *

Link was a faster learner than Sheik had anticipated, but she was grateful for it. It only meant that they could get to their destination faster than she thought they'd be able to. Sheik was sure to cast silencing spells on the areas they traveled, though, half as a warmup for the larger spell she'd have to perform once they were closer to the house.

It was a bit tricky though, as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Whether she silenced their falls or not, their impact still shook the houses they were jumping between. But there was no time to lose, because if they hesitated, they were much more likely to get caught, and that was the last thing they needed.

Finally, though, they made it to Coro's house. Sheik maintained the silencing spell long after their initial leap onto the rooftop, struggling more the longer she had to hold it. But though she was rusty at it, she managed, sweat on her brow as she kicked in a window in the back. From there, she snuck in, Link close behind her. Link made a grab for Coro, quickly putting his hand over his mouth to silence him.

Sheik didn't see anyone in the immediate vicinity, so she figured so long as Coro didn't scream, they'd be just fine.

After a moment's pause, she carefully lifted the silencing spell. Coro let out muffled yells, but Link's hand stopped them from getting very far.

"Don't bother screaming," Sheik said. "We're here to help you, not to hurt you."

Coro looked between her and Link, and, unsurprisingly, didn't look convinced.

"They've already taken your sister. It would be pointless for us to come if we were trying to take her, wouldn't it? Unless, of course, you have another sister. But we're not here for her." Sheik looked at a back room, unsurprised to find the door locked and barricaded. There was _definitely_ a second sister in there. "We're here to help you recover the one that was stolen from you. Nothing more."

Sheik nodded at Link, who released his hand from Coro's mouth.

"How—how did you even know she was taken," Coro asked, looking between them, clearly frightened.

"Overheard you outside the tavern," Link said. "Honest, we're just trying to bring her home."

Coro furrowed his brows. "Look, our family isn't exactly rich…"

"We're not interested in a ransom or a reward," Sheik said, tone flat. "We just want to bring her home. All we need is some information from you."

"…What _kind_ of information," Coro said, tone immediately distrusting again. "If you're one of those underground low-lifes, you can forget about it—"

"We aren't part of that organization," Link said, tone harder than Sheik had ever heard it before. Strange, she thought, but she didn't pay it much mind. "We're just trying to save your sister. The only information we need is any information you have about her. Where she was last seen, what she was wearing, if you saw the men that took her. That's all, okay?"

Coro still didn't look like he trusted them, but what choice did he have, really?

Sheik crossed her arms over her chest. "Any information you give us will be helpful," she said. "And you can stay here in the meanwhile and look after your other sister."

Sweat appeared on the man's brow, but though he looked scared, he gulped down his worries. "And—what is it you want to get out of this? Hena's—Hena's not the princess, if that's who you're looking for." He looked her up and down, as if checking to make sure she really was a Sheikah. "You work for the King, don't you…?"

Sheik shrugged a shoulder. "I don't care what the King wants. Your sister is a person, same as everyone else in Hyrule. I want to see her returned home safely." Link stared at her, but Sheik paid him no mind. "Now, are you going to tell us what you know, or not?"

Coro still appeared to not trust her, but that was alright, because he seemed to have decided on something. He took a deep breath. "Last I saw her, she was just going out to get something to eat. Her hair was dyed black, and she wasn't drawing any attention to herself—she knew better."

"Where did she go? Was she going someplace familiar?"

"She wanted to go to a tavern to get some food. But when I checked the tavern later, the bartender said that no one had even seen her." Coro squeezed his eyes shut, a pained expression on his face. "She must have been taken on the way there."

"How long ago?"

"She was taken last night," Coro said hollowly. "Evening."

Sheik looked down, instant guilt overshadowing her face. Perhaps if that man hadn't seen her last night and forced her into hiding, she might have been able to stop Coro's sister from being abducted. "We'll do the best we can," she said. "That's all I can promise."

Link walked up beside her, a small, reassuring smile on his face. "And, lately, our best has been pretty good," he said. "You might even have Hena back before the end of the week, who knows?"

Link's enthusiasm might have been nice, but Sheik couldn't help but frown. Giving Coro false hope might have been worse than giving him no hope at all, as far as she was concerned. But shooting down Link's optimism would be even worse, so Sheik just stayed silent.

Still, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why Link was so optimistic. They were about to go on a rescue mission—and, sure, they were doing something good—but it was going to be dangerous.

Sheik had to save them—she had to, because she was the reason they were being hunted down in the first place. But, goddesses, why had Link even taken that job from the King? What was in it for him—what good was this doing for him? Sheik felt guilt pull at her stomach. Right now, all she wanted was to leave and get far away from here—far away from her thoughts, and worries, even though she knew that they would travel with her no matter where she went.

It didn't help that she had no idea where to start looking for Hena, anyways.

Sheik was still _barely_ putting together the pieces. Though Coro had answered their questions, she was realizing all too late that the information was hardly helpful for a rescue. Sure, they knew where she was abducted before she reached the tavern, but how could that help with _where_ she'd been taken?

Unless…

"We'll get started on finding her right away," Sheik said suddenly, determination clear in her voice. Without another word, she hurried out the door, Link close behind her.

"Sheik," he called, catching up to her. "Hey, what was that about? Where are you going?"

"It would make no sense to deliver girls one at a time," she said, shaking her head. "These are people who employ strategy, Link. They're spreading fear and hunting people down one by one. They know they have the upper hand—they're not going to waste resources." Guilt pressed in on her, and Sheik cringed, clenching her hands into fists to avoid a more adverse physical reaction. It made sense that she could think like those creatures—that she understood resources, and careful planning, and how to stay hidden. But that didn't mean she liked having to ask herself what _they_ would do.

"Waste resources how?"

"If there's so many girls in this city, and they're capturing them, then it would make no sense to deliver each of them one by one. They have to be held somewhere before they're sent out." She bit her lip, trying in vain to find any large buildings that might have been used. But her guilt threatened to overwhelm her, and she felt as though the skyline was spinning around her. "I have no idea where they're being kept, but they're here somewhere. I'm sure of it."

Sheik didn't give him another chance to speak. She was in a panic, now—vertigo made it difficult to run, and no matter how she tried to tell herself that her guilt was irrational so long as she was doing something about it, it wouldn't listen.

Panic started to well up, and Sheik had to stop before the road swallowed her up entirely. She leaned heavily against a brick wall to her side, sweat beading at her temple that had nothing to do with the distance she'd run.

Images rose in her mind, and she found she couldn't block them out. Girls her age and younger, forced into captivity, separated from their families. Hurt and confused—taken against their will—probably being beaten and starved or worse.

All because of her.

The guilt made her feel physically sick, and Sheik found herself unable to run. She leaned against a brick wall by the side of the road, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.

It didn't work.

Flashes of girls huddled together, scared, alone—girls separated from the only homes they'd ever known—girls who probably had families, friends, loved ones—

Sheik squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to force the thoughts back. But there was no magic in the world that could perform such a miracle.

When Sheik stopped so suddenly, though, she should have known that Link would be right behind her. He walked up beside her, though seemed hesitant to approach closer than a few steps. "Are you—is something wrong?" he asked, reaching a hand towards her, though not nearly close enough to touch her. "Sheik… If you—if there's something I can…"

"I'm fine," she snapped, eyes flashing as she looked up at him. Though her skin felt grey as the glamour in her hair, Sheik tried nonetheless to muster up a fire in her voice. "We just—we need to find them, alright? We need to find them."

Before she could turn and leave, though, Link caught hold of her shoulder, stopping her. "Sheik. What's this about? You looked like you were going to be sick."

"It doesn't matter," she said. Just as so often before, she hadn't managed to find any inner fire—but perhaps ice would do instead, if she could manage even that. The more she tried to summon it, though, the more sue realized that not even the cold was coming. All she could manage was something numb—something detached as ever. She supposed it was better than the trembling she felt on the inside. "The only thing we should be focusing on is finding the place they're being kept."

Link's expression hardened, if only slightly. "Sheik, you're the one who stopped," he said. "Will you be alright if we keep going?"

"I'll be just fine so long as we find them. That's all," Sheik said. She closed her eyes, thoughts still on the forefront. She knew, though, that if there was no way to get the images out, then the best she could do was pray that they wouldn't overwhelm her. So she took a deep breath, forcing the vertigo to subside enough to let her walk, and continued on.

If Link was still worried, he didn't say—but Sheik didn't miss the concerned glances he kept throwing her way.

* * *

"It might be on the outskirts of the city—or totally outside the city," Link said, breaking the silence.

For hours, they'd been searching for anything that even looked like it could be a holding area. But they'd found nothing. It wasn't a surprise, really—if it was easy to find, concerned parents would have already found their girls. But that didn't mean it wasn't discouraging.

"If it's that far, how do they get the girls inside?" Sheik closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "That's what doesn't make sense. They wait till they're alone, but—how do they get know they're alone in the first place? How many of those creeps are here? Or do they lure the girls away, somehow? I just—everyone is on such high alert. I don't think I've seen a single girl my age out here. So how are they still getting them? And how on earth are they managing to kidnap them with no one noticing?"

Link was quiet for a moment, face settling into a frown. "I don't know about the rest," he said slowly, brows furrowing in thought. "But I think—I might know how they're being moved from one place to another. Ecchar has a lot of underground passageways—they're not well-known, but…"

"Why didn't you speak up before?" Sheik stared at him, somewhere between shock and anger that he hadn't breathed a word of this earlier.

"I didn't think—it's still pretty unlikely," Link said. "It's just—Sheik, the tunnels under Ecchar… they already belong to a group of criminals. That's why I thought it was unlikely for the kidnappers to be using them."

"It's already owned _by_ criminals! Why wouldn't the kidnappers use them?!"

"Because criminals don't mess with other criminals," Link said, raising his voice to match her own angry tone. "If something already belongs to one group, others tend not to mess with them, because no one wants a turf war. Especially not in a city as overrun as Ecchar."

Sheik narrowed her eyes at him, stopping where she stood. "And who's to say that the criminals who own the tunnels aren't also responsible for the kidnapping?"

Link looked away. "I—It's possible," he said, in a voice that sounded almost guilty. "But I doubt it, Sheik. The criminals who own it… They aren't those sorts of criminals. Or at least—they didn't used to be. A few years ago, I wouldn't have thought them capable, but… I suppose… there's a possibility they might be behind it, yeah."

Red flags went off in Sheik's head immediately. Not just because of what Link had said, either—but because of some of the eyes on them. Whether monsters of men were watching every street-corner or not, this was sensitive information.

Secret tunnels, a criminal organization that Link had far too much information on—especially since Sheik had never even heard of them, and she'd been in Ecchar more than once…

"Follow me," Sheik suddenly said, keeping her voice low. "We need to find somewhere more private to talk."

Link's eyes strayed to some of the people on the street. Without another word, he nodded and followed her.

* * *

They were on the outskirts of the city before Link opened up again.

"They have huge passageways along the sewers," he said. "Big ones. They used to hold meetings underneath the marketplace. They _always_ had the tunnels guarded, and the passageways were completely secret. No one else is supposed to know about them—and, honestly, if you tell anyone what I'm telling you now, I might not live to help you find anyone." When Sheik raised a brow, he shook his head, voice more sober than she'd heard it ever before. "I mean it, Sheik."

"Alright, I won't tell," she promised. "But do you remember the layout? Would there be anywhere far enough underground that no one would hear the girls' cries for help?"

"There was nothing deep enough last I checked," Link said. "That's also part of why I didn't think it'd be relevant. Those tunnels took a while to build, so I doubt they've been able to expand. They're ancient—been around since Hyrule's last war."

"So, nothing deep enough…" Sheik frowned, testing the thought for a moment. "Do they connect to any homes? Any entrances or exits you remember?"

Link closed his eyes, clearly trying to remember. "There were a few, I think, that had cellar doors. Some of the owners of those doors didn't even know what they had. Others were part of the—the underground. A tavern or two, I think. I can't remember which ones."

"Taverns," Sheik said. " _A tavern_ …"

Sheik's eyes widened as she remembered what Coro had said. "A tavern, Link," she said. "Hena was heading to a tavern."

"But they said she never made it." No sooner than he'd said it, though, did Link's eyes light up in recognition. "If the tavern owner was someone who had participated in her kidnapping, though…"

Sheik nodded. "I think that tavern might be our best bet, Link," she said. "We have to ask Coro which one. If she's there, then—"

"No," Link said suddenly. "We can't ask him. We can't let him know where his sister might be being kept. Especially not if she's so close-by."

"And why not?"

"He has his other sister to protect. And if he finds out where Hena is, what's to stop him from going after her and leaving his other sister alone? When that other man was talking to Coro, before, he said that some people were breaking into homes now. We can't let him leave her." Link's face was set into a grim expression, and though Sheik wanted to disagree, to say that it was Coro's right to help find his sister, she knew he was right.

Sheik sighed. "Then what do you suppose we do? Go to every tavern and hope we find the one she was taken to?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I think—if we look at the ones near Coro's house, I might remember which one it is."

It struck Sheik, suddenly, that Link had said these tunnels were secret—and that he could be killed if anyone knew he'd told her. And if he knew all of this, and might be able to remember which tavern had a tunnel entrance point, and 'a couple of years ago, he wouldn't have thought them capable' of being kidnappers…

Sheik couldn't help but wonder just how Link knew all of this.

Still, she had skeletons in her own closet. The last thing she needed was to pry into Link's.

"Wait," she said, stopping him when he stood to go back towards the city. "You said it was always heavily guarded…"

"There's not much we can do about that," Link said. He pulled his sword from its sheath on his back, examining it with a rueful smile. "I… I just hope that it's not—that it's just those creatures that vanish into smoke that's down there."

"And if it's not?"

"I won't kill them. I'll incapacitate them, I'll hurt them, I'll disable them—but I won't kill them, Sheik. Do you understand that?"

Sheik shrugged a shoulder. "Fine. Do what you have to. So long as we can get in and out and get the job done, it doesn't matter to me."

The relief on Link's face put a strange feeling in Sheik's heart, but she didn't dwell on it. What was it to her if Link had seemed all too happy that he had the freedom to decide?

"Anyways, it might not matter. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that even if some of them are Hylians, the majority of them are going to be monsters. When we get close enough, I'll do my best to detect their magic. Stay close, though—if we get split up, you'll have to figure out whether they're monsters or not on your own."

With that, Link nodded, soberly shielding his sword. "I'll stay with you," he promised. "Now, to the tavern…"

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time they'd retraced their steps and, after several rejected taverns, found the one Link recognized.

"This is it," he breathed as they approached it. "I can't remember where the entrance is—and they probably have it hidden and guarded anyways. But this is definitely the one."

Though Sheik still wasn't sure how he could tell, she didn't argue. "Do you have a plan for how to find the entrance?"

Link shook his head. "I was hoping you could figure that one out."

Sheik closed her eyes, planning already. "Well," she said, finally dropping the glamour on her hair, returning it to its natural blonde, "I know one way to get inside. Hold this, will you?"

She handed Link her scarf, mask, and most of her outerwear. She couldn't have anything identifying her as a Sheikah, after all—and she was just starting on undoing her bindings when Link suddenly reeled in shock. "Sheik! You can't just—"

"Do you have a better idea?" Sheik already had one hand on her bindings, planning on undoing them to make it more obvious that she was a girl, as her face alone was often enough to convince people that she was a boy. Usually, it worked in her favor—but now, she cursed her masculine features and sharp eyes. Before she could even undo the first row, though, Link's face turned scarlet and he caught hold of her wrist.

"What are you doing?!"

Though Link's expression was one of thorough embarrassment, Sheik hardly raised a brow as she pried his hand off of her wrist. "Trying to get caught, _obviously_. If I look like a boy, they might not go for me."

Link shook his head. "Sheik, you can't be serious," he said. "There are other ways to go down there, I'm sure of it."

Grudgingly, Sheik moved her hands away from the bindings. "I'm not seeing an alternative," she said. "We don't know where the girls are, so we need someone to take us there. And there are guards everywhere, meaning we can't take them all out and explore the tunnels on our own, even if they are just illusions…"

"Why wouldn't we be able to take them on?" Link asked. "I've seen you fight people before. You're good at what you do."

Sheik scoffed. "I'm only as good as I am _fast_ ," she said. "I can hold my own and defend myself in a pinch, but taking on guys twice my size in a corridor with nowhere to hide, no ledges to jump from, and no exit in sight? Not a chance."

"But what about at Telma's? You took on a bunch there," he said. "You were going on tables and everything—"

"Yeah, that's the point. At Telma's, I had terrain I could use to my advantage. In a tunnel, there's no cover. Nothing to use as leverage, nothing to jump off of but the walls themselves." Sheik pursed her lips. "And I need them to take me so we can find where the other girls are being kept. And if they take me, they'd take my weapons. Not a chance I'd get to keep them."

"Wait. Wait," Link said, closing his eyes. "I think—between the two of us, we might be able to come up with something."

"You have an idea?"

To her pleasant surprise, Link nodded. "Yeah. It's a longshot, and I'll be surprised if something doesn't go wrong, but yes. I have an idea."

Sheik smirked. Though the thought of truly being caught was less than pleasant, to know that they might have a chance at saving these girls was a relief. "I'm all ears."

* * *

A timid expression wasn't one Sheik wore well. Years of putting up a braver front than what she felt had hardened her into true courage—so having to act as if she was frightened went wholly against her nature.

And, as she entered the tavern and took a seat alone at a barstool, she had to resist the urge to hold her head up high—proud and defiant as she was used to.

But, no—she had to lower her head as if she was a meek little girl and look at all the people around her. It drew even more attention to her, of course, though the part she was playing didn't have the common sense to see it. So Sheik took a seat at the bar, wide-eyed and innocent, even going so far as to fidget where she sat.

"Do you—do you have anything low on actual alcohol?" she asked, forcing her voice into something softer. "I'm supposed to be meeting my brother here when he arrives from Oxon…" She chose the city only for the closest one she could think of—yet, still two days' travel. Plenty of time for something to happen to her in the meanwhile.

"Oxon, huh?" the bartender asked as he poured her something. And, goddesses, Sheik could already tell that this man worked for some kind of criminal organization, because the bottles he was pouring together were certainly _not_ low alcohol.

In fact, Sheik was suddenly quite worried about getting drugged.

Sheik wondered if that was how they got some of their victims—drugged drinks or getting them too drunk to understand what was happening to them. Perhaps it was what had happened to Hena…

In any case, when the drink was passed back to Sheik, she didn't drink it, instead just nervously tapping the glass. "Oh, yes. I passed Oxon on the way here. It was smoking an awful lot… Was there a fire recently?"

"You mean it's not anymore?" The bartender looked genuinely curious. Sheik cursed internally—no one would have come there and back yet to check on it. "Huh…"

"I sure hope he wasn't caught in the fire, if it really was on fire," Sheik said, brows angling up in concern. She expended a true effort to make her temporarily-green eyes well up with tears, but none came. "Oh, dear… He came a while ago—do you think he might have gotten caught up in it?"

"It's possible," the man said. Sheik saw the greedy glint in his eye, and internally, she reeled with disgust. "Will you be needing a room, then, if his travel was delayed?"

"Probably," Sheik said, voice a sigh. "I thought I'd be the late one, but… I don't see him anywhere…"

The man looked her up and down once, then seemed to settle on something. "Well, drink up, girl, and I'll set you up somewhere upstairs, how's that?"

Sheik pretended to be indecisive. She couldn't make this too easy, or else it might be suspicious. But after a moment, she nodded, giving the man a timid smile. "Well… I suppose… I could wait for him here… This is the tavern he plans on meeting me in, after all…"

Just as she was saying it, Link slipped through the door. She didn't turn to look at him, but she saw him from her peripheral. He made his way to the restroom in the back without a word, drawing no attention from either customers or the bartender.

Sheik thanked the goddesses that the plan was working well so far.

Still, pretending to drink the glass would be much more difficult, especially if he was watching her like she was.

If she could only cast a fire spell, maybe she'd be able to distract him with something burning… But as it was, she'd have to improvise.

She waited until someone else had come and needed to be served, then stealthily froze small portions of the drink. She didn't swallow the ice cubes, instead storing them in her mouth just long enough to spit them out into her hand and allow them to melt, then subtly drop to the ground.

The tavern was busy enough that she didn't worry too much about being seen doing magic. In fact, the only real worry she had wasn't 'drinking' her drink.

Still, as he looked over expectantly, Sheik realized that he was expecting her to start acting like someone who was drugged. As someone who'd never catered to her own needs, Sheik wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for—but she'd certainly been drunk before, and half-drunk off of exhaustion.

Hoping she was at least playing 'vulnerable victim' well enough, Sheik half-closed her eyes and started to sway where she sat. Not enough to fall and attract attention, but definitely enough to let on that she wasn't able to defend herself very well. "Do you… have some water? Just plain water," she said, voice drowsy and slightly slurred. "I don't know why, but I'm feeling a little sick…"

"Sick, huh?" The man smiled—a little too much—and Sheik hoped that this act was working well enough. "I don't think water would help much, sweetheart. You look like you need to lie down. Rough night last night? Where'd you stay?"

"Was on the road last night," Sheik said, closing her eyes. "I've been traveling a lot these days…"

The message she hoped she was giving was one of 'No one will look for me if you take me.' It seemed to be delivered, with the way the man was quick to come alongside her.

"You know, how about we set you upstairs now, rather than later, huh? You can pay me tomorrow morning."

Sheik had no doubt that they'd raid her purse of anything useful, and she was glad she'd set aside a few dozen rupees just in case she'd had to purchase more drinks before the man attempted to take her.

While her eyes were half-lidded with her feigned drugged state, the bartender lifted her from her seat, supporting her as he made his way to a staircase. But instead of going up, he went down.

 _Jackpot_.

Though Sheik couldn't get a good look at exactly where she was without drawing attention, she did hear the banging of cabinets, and then the squeak of an old trap-door, and then the moving of a metal grate. She prayed that Link was watching—or that he remembered where to look for this entrance.

It scared Sheik, really, just how much she was depending on this boy.

If he wasn't there on time, she'd have to fight out of this alone. Goddesses, _she_ was the one they were looking for. Panic surged through her for just a moment, but she forced her breathing to stay steady. She couldn't allow herself to panic—not here, not now.

And especially not when the man turned back around and patted her down for weapons.

She didn't have a single dagger. No knives, neither big nor small, and certainly not her katana. She had nothing to defend herself with. Which, while good for her cover, was doing nothing to abate her panic. Still, she forced it down, down, down, till she wasn't sure she even remembered how to breathe.

"Don't you worry, girlie," the man said as he moved her down into the cellar, into the secret passageway. "I'll make sure you get right where you need to be…"

Sheik allowed her eyes to slip shut as she was led down the tunnel, far away from anyone who might hear her cry out.

She could only pray that Link wouldn't be far behind.

Though everything was going according to plan so far, there was still so much room for everything to go wrong. And if Link wasn't in range for her silencing spell to allow him to walk undetected, then she hated to think about what might happen if he was caught.

So, as she was carried, slung over the man's shoulder, she kept one eye open for Link. And as the minutes dragged on, and she was led deeper and deeper into the tunnel, she couldn't help but worry.

Because Link still hadn't shown.

Sheik couldn't help but wonder, as dread started to sink in, why she'd ever thought to trust him in the first place. Next time, she wouldn't make the same mistake—so long as she lived for there to be a next time, that was.

* * *

 **((Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger. But hey, thanks to everyone who's started reading this—and especially to everyone who's reviewed. I know last chapter was during finals week, so a lot of people were busy—but it really means a lot to me when people take the time to review. I treasure each one greatly. So please, if you like this (or even if you didn't!) review! It'd mean a whole lot to me.))**


	11. Chapter 11

The longer Sheik was carried down that dark tunnel, with Link nowhere in sight, the more she started to wonder what would become of her.

Even if she didn't have what they were searching for—the Triforce of Wisdom—she was still the King's Daughter.

But would they even recognize her?

Did they even have a way to trace her back to the King's lineage?

Goddesses, she didn't even know who her mother was, and she couldn't remember her father's face. If they took her back to the castle and showed her to the king, would he even recognize her now that she was older?

She grit her teeth. The very thought of him seeing her and recognizing her as his daughter made her stomach turn. There was no way, whether she lived or died, that she wanted that selfish prick of a king to recognize her. He sent her away when she was just a _child_. She'd rather die than be adopted as his daughter again.

And all the better that she was missing while there was a threat to the royal family. They were the ones who had someone trying to kill them—let them deal with their own problems. She wasn't part of the family; they'd made that plenty clear enough. So she should be free to live her own life far away from them, without ever having to worry about their problems.

It irritated her more than she was willing to admit. _They_ were the reason the monsters were after her. The monsters hadn't found their precious Triforce of Wisdom among the royal family—big surprise, if the king was so selfish as to send away his own child—so they were searching for the one blood relation that might still have it. The royal family, thus, was the reason she had to hide even more now than she'd had to these past eight years.

Sheik felt a glare hardening her features, and for a moment, she almost forgot that she was slung over this man's shoulder.

There was no magic emanating from him, so she knew he was just a man. A monster _of_ a man, if he was willing to kidnap girls barely into adulthood, but a man nonetheless.

She wondered if she'd be able to kill him on her own.

After all, she had no weapons. No knives, no daggers—not even rope to strangle him with.

Yet, even as she tried to plan out how to kill this man, Sheik couldn't help but think on Link's words. He refused to kill real people. Monsters, he had no trouble killing—even gigantic, ambiguously sentient fire monsters—yet he refused to kill Hylians.

Was there a reason for it?

Sheik wouldn't kill unless it was strictly necessary. She knew when it came down to it, she'd kill to save her own life, and the lives she cared about. And this could very well be a situation where she had to kill to stay alive—especially if Link didn't come soon.

But his words stuck with her. _He'd incapacitate them, he'd hurt them, disable them—but he wouldn't kill them._

Was Link a better person than her?

No sooner than the thought entered her mind, Sheik knew it was true. She was on this mission to save the missing girls because it was her fault they were in danger in the first place.

But what was _Link_ doing this for?

He couldn't have been in it for the money—no amount would be worth the danger he was putting himself in.

And she knew him well enough to know he wasn't in it for the glory.

He wasn't dumb enough to be in it for the adventure, either.

The only reason Sheik could think of was that he was, truly, doing this to help people. Whether it was just the princess, or all the missing girls, he genuinely seemed to want to save everyone he could.

For that, Link was far and wide a better person than her. For some reason, the thought put a strange feeling in her chest.

And yet, though Sheik knew he was the better person, where was he?

Abandoning his teammate? Letting her be taken captive?

Why was he taking so long?

Had he not seen where the entrance was? Was it guarded? Had he been seen and recognized as someone who didn't belong in the back room? Why wasn't he coming?

Sheik watched behind the man's back, attempting to make note of all the twists and turns he was taking. They'd been walking for a while now, and if Sheik had to run up and get the girls out by herself, then she had to know where to go.

And while the tavern certainly wasn't a _safe_ place, they could make their way out in a pinch. There had certainly been some tough looking men, but with strategy and careful timing—and possibly sneaking out the windows upstairs—maybe, just maybe, they could escape all in one piece.

It was a longshot, though. Especially if Sheik was captured herself.

The mere thought put ice in her heart—a different kind of ice than the kind she usually fortified herself with.

But, just as she was revising her strategy and trying to figure out a way to escape, she heard a single echo of a tap behind her.

The man carrying her immediately stopped.

"Who's there?" he asked, whipping around. Sheik felt her heart leap into her throat, terrified that Link would be caught. But after several tense seconds, the man huffed and turned back around. "Damn dripping ceiling…"

So as he continued walking, Sheik cast a silencing spell about a hundred feet behind the man, creating a small square of light so Link would know where he could walk without making a sound.

Link seemed to take the hint, because no sooner than she'd cast it did he come out of hiding. Link must have been hiding some distance back, staying just a corner behind them so that if the man turned, he couldn't see him following.

He must have kept his footsteps hidden so far by matching pace with the man carrying her. Sheik wondered just how long he'd been following them, but she couldn't find it in her to care. She was just glad that he was here—that she had a chance.

Link soon walked into the square of light, a reassuring smile on his face. There was a cut on his arm though, and he had the beginnings of a black eye. Sheik couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Who had hurt him—monsters, or men, or both? But he was here, and more importantly, he had her knives as well as his own sword. They'd be protected, even if they weren't _safe_.

The further they walked in the tunnels, though, the closer to their ultimate goal they came. And with their ultimate goal, Sheik knew there would be guards.

And if anyone saw Link trailing behind him, their cover would be blown, and it would escalate into an all-out brawl. They'd have to take on dozens of guards at a time, and that wasn't a fight Sheik was sure they could win. So Sheik carefully nodded her head, and let her eye color flash back to red, rather than the green she'd been maintaining.

Link held up one hand, slowly counting down from five.

When he reached one, Sheik's world exploded into motion. She dropped the silence around Link but created a new circle around herself. Without waiting for Link to come closer, she brought her elbow down hard on the man's head. Though he didn't drop unconscious, he reeled in shock, and Sheik took advantage of it.

In an instant, she sprang off of his shoulder and elbowed him in the nose. He'd scarcely started to bleed before she had turned and kicked him hard against the wall, his head bearing the brunt of the impact.

As the man slipped into unconsciousness, Link stood between him and Sheik, tying him up and putting a gag in his mouth before Sheik could inflict any more pain on him.

Sheik let out a deep breath, then dropped the silence from around them.

Link came close to her, whispering close to her ear. "You alright?"

"Fine," she answered, heart still racing. She took a good look at Link's face and the gash on his arm and couldn't help but ask, "What about you?"

But Link just smiled and shook his head. "I've been better, but I'm fine. Some guards gave me trouble on my way here, but they're out cold and locked away in a cabinet. We have at _least_ an hour before anyone realizes they're missing and comes looking for them."

"Then we'd better use that hour wisely," Sheik said. "Come on. It can't be much further till we find where they're holding them."

Link nodded, and in an instant, they were on their way, sticking close to the walls and hiding in the shadows so none could detect them.

* * *

Not five minutes later, noise returned to the tunnel. It was nothing but a murmur for now; quiet, like the crackle of a campfire some distance off. But it was there nonetheless.

"Do you hear that?" Link asked, eyes narrowing as he tried to place the source of the noise. "I think it's another tavern."

"Why would there be another tavern?" Sheik furrowed her brows, trying to puzzle through it. "He led me in this direction, and I haven't seen another fork in the road. Why would…?"

"A tavern…" Link's eyes widened, and he grabbed hold of Sheik's shoulder. "Another tavern. A louder one. They can't let the girls be heard, so what else could they do but stick them somewhere too loud for anyone to hear them? Most taverns are loud all night long, and if this one is busy enough…"

"Then no one would ever even have the chance to hear the girls crying for help," Sheik finished. "Goddesses… They planned this out well."

Link nodded grimly. "And no one else even knows about the tunnels. There would have been no way to even find them if anyone did hear them."

Sheik closed her eyes, lips forming a tight line. "How many guards will be on them, do you think?"

"They have to keep them from getting out," Link said, "So probably at least six big ones. I don't know if they'll be monsters or people."

"If they're taking girls prisoner, they're monsters enough for me," Sheik said. "If you won't kill them, I'll be happy to."

Though Link looked guilty, he nodded all the same. "If… If you have to, I understand."

The guilt on his face had Sheik immediately on guard. "Don't try to stop me. I won't make _you_ do it, but don't interfere. If I can knock them unconscious, I will, but if I kill them, I don't want one word of complaint. If it means ensuring those girls' lives and freedom, I will kill them without hesitation." Sheik looked him in the eye, her red eyes dark with anger. "He tried to drug me, Link, and I can almost guarantee that he and men like him have done the same with Hena and the other girls we'll find here."

Link closed his eyes. "I know, Sheik. I know. I didn't think that…" He lowered his head, something somber on his face as he went silent. When he found his voice again, it almost shook. "Years ago, I didn't think they would ever stoop this low. I might have even defended them. But… If they're doing this, then… I won't stop you, Sheik."

"Good," she said. Not wanting to think about why Link would have ever defended monsters like this, she turned and started again down the tunnel. "We have no time to waste. They probably have them where the tunnel is loudest. We should follow the noise."

Link nodded, numbly following her deeper into the tunnel.

* * *

It was the guards that first tipped them off—that, and the sudden surge in magic energy.

They'd been following the noise for about ten minutes when they finally came across a room being guarded by three men.

They were big, but they had also been taken by surprise.

Sheik silenced the area around them so that no one inside would know of the scuffle. Once she saw the horror on their face that their call for help would have no effect, she gratefully pulled out her katana.

There was no mercy in her eyes as she stabbed through the biggest one's heart, watching with grim satisfaction as he turned to smoke.

Before she could even turn to help Link with the remaining two, she found that they were, likewise, nothing but ash in the air.

The door they were guarding was important, Sheik knew that much. So with a silent five-finger countdown, she and Link worked together to kick in the door.

When it came down, it came down hard. It startled everyone inside, and Sheik knew she didn't have enough energy for many more silencing spells, so once the initial impact had worn off, she lifted the silence. The brawl that followed was short, but just as successful as the one before. Though Sheik didn't have terrain to work with, she had her weapons, and she had her anger.

She'd used an awful lot of magic already today, but being so close to their goal had her adrenaline on an all-time-high. Chances were, she wouldn't feel the crash for a few more minutes.

Sheik wasn't looking forward to when that adrenaline wore off. But she couldn't focus on that right now—not when there was so much work to do. So she took a good look around her, taking note of all she could see.

There were six guards in the room—and five girls locked in the cell at the center of the room with no key in sight.

Once the guards had reverted to smoke and ash, Sheik and Link rushed to the cell, with Link looking the girls over for injuries, while Sheik focused her attention instead on what was holding them in.

A thick lock penned them in, and Sheik looked it over with dismay. She'd have to use a freezing spell on it till it became brittle enough to break off—a trick Impa had shown her when she was young. It took an awful lot of energy, and fire would have been much easier. But Sheik had never been able to create fire. So, brittle ice it was. "This might take a minute, and we don't have a lot of time," she said, focusing her energy on freezing the top part of the lock. "Be ready to run as soon as the door opens, do you understand?"

The girls nodded, and Sheik didn't waste time on any more instructions.

"We're here to get you out, don't worry," Link asked, and Sheik could hear the reassurance in his voice. "What are your names?"

Sheik heard "Martha," "Maple," "Tracy," and "Joynas" before she finally heard "Hena."

Good. So Coro would get to reunite with his sister after all.

Sheik felt her energy deplete the more of this spell she used, but finally, it turned white, then rust-red as she released the spell and pulled the ice back.

It shattered with a single thrust of a knife, allowing the cell door to open.

The girls filed out of the cell in an instant, and Sheik felt her anger grow as she took in their appearances. Dirty, bruised—and some of them even looked half starved. Whoever was responsible for this, she would make them pay.

"What is the best way to leave?" she asked Link, eyes hard as she led them through the door and down the path they'd come. "The tavern we came in through _might_ work, so long as we sneak out through the windows."

"I don't know how long those guards are going to be passed out," Link said. "There's another tunnel leading out near here, though. If we rush them out into the open streets, no one can snatch them without drawing attention. We can get right on getting them home, too, without having to sneak them out of any buildings."

Though Sheik wasn't familiar with the area—and thus was instinctively distrustful—she couldn't help but agree. "So long as you're sure about this," she said, glancing back to the girls.

As they ran, one of the five was falling further and further behind. She was the one that looked like she'd been here the longest—skinny, with gaunt cheeks and bruises that almost blended in with her dirty face and arms. Before Sheik could reach out to help her, though, Link doubled back. He ran back to the front in an instant, the girl already on his back.

"I can carry her if need be, Link. You're the one who knows these tunnels," Sheik said, narrowing her eyes. If he fell behind or couldn't run, then there wasn't a chance of their escape. He had to know that.

Link's expression was quick to silence her. "You've used a lot of magic already, haven't you? Don't waste your energy," he said. "I'm not leaving without you."

They ran like that for nearly ten minutes, the other four girls quick on their heels.

Sheik could see the light in front of her, and she knew Link had been right about the tunnel letting out. But once they arrived, the tunnel was locked and guarded.

"Stay back," Sheik ordered the girls, before once more plunging the immediate vicinity into silence.

Her adrenaline was wearing off, though, and she was starting to feel the drain her magic caused. Her aim was precise as ever, and her knives found their targets in the heads and hearts of each guard, but her arm was slower. And when she ran out of knives to throw, her stabs and strikes were enough that the guards were starting to deflect them.

Link ended up taking out the bulk of the guards, and, to Sheik's dismay, that included the one that was steadily backing her into a corner. Grateful as she was that she was still alive, she couldn't help her frustration that she'd needed to be saved.

By the time the last guard fell, though, and Sheik could finally release the silencing spell, she was absolutely exhausted.

"It's locked," Link said, frowning as he looked up at it. "Do you have enough magic left to break through it?"

Sheik glanced up at the lock, heart sinking as she realized it would require another elemental spell to break through. "I don't have think I have enough to use it and stay conscious," she said. "But if I stay behind, then maybe—"

Link grabbed hold of her shoulder, flames practically burning behind his eyes. "Don't even think about it," he said. "We can find another way. We've made it this far."

Echoes of footsteps suddenly reached Sheik's ears, and she knew they had to make their decision quickly.

In an instant, she summoned the rest of her power to freeze the lock, then rapidly unfreeze it. She felt the world blurring around her, but she kept her focus on the lock in front of her. Once it was finally ready, she took her hands off of it, watching blearily as Link struck it hard with a dagger. The light of day reached them as soon as Link had thrown the doors open, causing Sheik to close and shield her eyes.

It was probably a good thing, too. Sheik couldn't feel the glamour over her eyes anymore, and she didn't have the magic to replace it. If she opened her eyes, they'd be blue. She prayed Link hadn't already seen them—but if he had, there wasn't much she could do about it.

The echoes of footsteps were getting louder now, and Sheik only had the energy to lean against the wall as Link helped each girl up and into the light. Just when she thought the soldiers would spot them though, she felt herself being lifted and helped out.

Sheik heard only the echo of the door closing behind her. The world felt distant, though she still had a tentative grip on consciousness. It didn't help that she had her eyes closed—but she couldn't risk opening them and having anyone seeing her blue eyes.

Still, if she was allowed to function on her pride alone, she would have stood proud and attempted to walk on her own. As that wasn't an option, though, she kept her eyes shut and allowed Link to sling her arm around his shoulders.

"There's a safe house a block down," he said to the girls. "We're going to get each of you back to your homes, I promise. But once you're with your family, stay there. Do _not_ go back into the streets. We'll figure out a safer location for all of you later, but for now, just stay in your homes."

There was a scattered chorus of yesses before Link started to move. They went first to the homes closest to this area, delivering Tracy and Maple to houses just two doors down from each other, then Martha, then Joynas. Each girl was greeted with tearful reunions before they moved on, with Hena being the final stop, some distance from the last house.

It took a great amount of time—and even longer was spent avoiding any monsters that came their way—but honestly, Sheik hardly comprehended it. The longer they spent outside, the more she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness. If she didn't rest soon, she might not be able to see Hena's safe return.

Her pride was, perhaps, the only thing that kept her conscious at all.

When Coro opened the door to see none other than Sheik, Link, and, most importantly Hena, he wasted no time in opening the door and helping them in.

"You found her," he whispered, locking and barring the door as soon as they'd passed the threshold. " _You found her_ —and only in a few hours?"

"We were underground," Hena said, tightly embracing her brother. "They had us in these tunnels, they must have been as long as the entire city. We were kept under a tavern—and—and they kept talking about how any day they were going to ship us up north, to—to Ise, or into the mountains. I think they have a base there, I don't know."

Her voice suddenly choked up, but Sheik didn't have to open her eyes to see that Coro was hugging his sister.

"There are probably other cells, yeah," Link said, sitting down on a soft surface and pulling Sheik down with him. "But we can't get to them today."

"Is she going to be alright?" Coro asked, and Sheik had to resist frowning as she realized they were talking about her.

Link adjusted her so that she was leaning against his shoulder. She would have protested, if she'd had the energy or could admit she was awake, but as it was, she was too tired to move.

"I think she'll be just fine once she gets some sleep," he said. "We should probably head back to the inn we were staying at, though. It's late, and we shouldn't attract more attention to your home."

"Wouldn't leaving attract more attention?" Coro took Link's silence as encouragement, and continued, "Please—you two have returned my sister to me. The least I can do is give you a safe place to sleep. There's a room in the back you can use."

Sheik could practically feel Link's indecision, but after a moment, she felt herself being lifted up. "I… Guess it couldn't hurt anything. We'll stay here for the night, then. Do you have a cot I can use?"

"Oh—I'd assumed you two wouldn't mind sharing," Coro said, sounding a little embarrassed. "I'm sure we can find one somewhere."

"He can use mine," Hena said. "Iza has a ton of extra pillows. I'm sure I can use some of hers."

"There's no need for that," Link said, adjusting Sheik in his arms. "I'll be alright, don't worry."

Just as Link started to walk towards the extra bedroom, though, Hena suddenly spoke up again. "We can get you some water and bandages, if you'd like. Your arm doesn't look so good…"

That's right—he'd been cut in his first altercation with guards that day. It had already stopped bleeding, Sheik was sure, but he really should have gotten it cleaned already. Sheik had nearly forgotten about it—Link hadn't mentioned it since they'd knocked out that bartender.

"I'll be fine. It's already healing up," he said, tucking her up tighter against him. "But thank you for offering."

And, just like that, he was heading into the spare room. Sheik felt herself being gently laid onto a soft bed, covers being gently pulled over her.

Goddesses, he'd even laid her on her side, just how she usually slept.

"I don't know if you're really asleep or not," Link said softly, brushing hair out from her eyes. "But… don't do that again, okay? I know everything technically went according to plan, and we made it out… but Sheik…"

Link sighed, and she felt the bed dip under his weight.

"Don't… don't offer to do that again. I don't care if you don't trust me yet. I won't let you try to take the fall again. Not like that. And not if there's something we can do to avoid it."

Sheik couldn't think of what to even say to that.

What could they have done to avoid it? It wasn't as if they had the keys to the locks. There was no avoiding what had happened to her, and it was her choice, anyways. What right did Link have to feel guilty about it?

Still, she was too tired to feel properly angry.

It didn't take long till Sheik was no longer faking sleep, but falling into it.

And yet, till dreams redirected her mind, Sheik had one question that wouldn't go away. _Why was Link so set on helping her?_

* * *

" _What's it like to be a Sheikah, Impa?" Zelda asked. "And—and to have magic, and everything."_

 _Impa seemed a little surprised—wary, even—but relaxed soon after. "Why do you ask, dear one?"_

" _I just think it'd be really nice to have magic, like you," she said. "I wanna be able to make ice, and fire, and—and vanish from sight, and silence everything around me, and make things come to me from far away, and read minds, and heal people, and—"_

" _Easy there," Impa said, smiling as she put a hand on the girl's hair. "It takes a long time to master magic, and not everyone has the gift."_

" _The gift?"_

 _Impa nodded, kneeling down to look her in the eye. At six, Zelda was certainly taller than other girls her age, but Impa was much, much taller than her. It was nice to see her face and get to talk to her a little easier. "The gift. It's what gives us Sheikah our magic. Only those with Sheikah blood can access such magic, you know."_

 _Zelda's face fell. "Oh," she said. "I understand. Is there… is there other magic I could learn, then? Even a little?"_

 _To her surprise, though, Impa reached out a hand and cupped Zelda's cheek, smiling softly at her. "Oh, dear one… Why do you think you don't have any Sheikah blood in you? Your skin is almost as dark as mine. King's daughter or not, I'm sure you have a little Sheikah in you, at least. And even if you don't…" Impa trailed off, seeming to have trouble finding the words. "I'm sure an exception could be made for you."_

 _Impa's eyes looked sad, no matter the sweet smile on her face. But Zelda, too young to understand why her guardian would look so sad, simply beamed up at her. "You mean I can learn magic?!"_

" _I think you already have some magic in you, child," she said. "I'm not sure how much, of course—Sheikah magic works by blood, you know. However much Sheikah is in you determines just how much magic you can do without hurting yourself."_

" _Hurting myself?"_

" _Because it's linked by blood, it works with your life energy, dear one," Impa explained. "Never try to do too much at once. If you drain too much of your life energy, then you'll sleep for a very long time, and you might not wake up. Do you understand?"_

 _Zelda nodded, looking as serious as her youthful face would allow. "I understand, Impa. I promise, I'll never, never ever ever, use too much magic at once."_

" _Good girl," she said, leaning over to press a quick kiss to the top of the girl's head. "Now, we can get started on learning magic later. For now, I think someone promised to go pick some wildflowers for the table, hm?"_

 _Though Zelda was a little disappointed that she wouldn't learn immediately, she had the faintest flicker of an idea as she looked at the door. "Once I come back, can we start?"_

" _Yes, dear one, if you really want to," Impa said. When Zelda immediately brightened and rushed out the door, Impa only smiled and shook her head. Though Zelda usually took nearly an hour to make and arrange the prettiest flowers, this time she came back after only fifteen minutes, with nothing but white and yellow daisies in her basket._

 _As a child, that enthusiasm for magic never did wane—though she never managed to do nearly as much magic as Impa._

* * *

When Sheik awoke, it was to a headache and to the sound of muffled voices.

"—have to talk to her about where we're going next. Ecchar isn't safe for me right now."

"No?"

"If I stay much longer, I might be recognized. I—it's a long story. But we'll be back, I'm sure."

"Can we get you anything? My sisters own a fishing business—and I sell lanterns and oil. Can we help you stock up on anything?"

"I'd—I'd feel bad about not paying you…"

"You brought my sister home, Link. There is no way for me to repay _you_."

Sheik sat up, rubbing her forehead and trying to listen in on the conversation so she wouldn't have to catch up later. She must have slept for a while, because her body felt capable of performing magic again. Sheik was just glad that no one was in the room, because for a moment after sitting up, she couldn't feel her glamour.

In an instant, though, she reapplied it, red eyes blinking at the late morning light.

"I… suppose we could use a fishing pole and a lantern or two," Link finally said. "But we're traveling rather light, so nothing more than that, really. We're managing just fine so far."

 _Managing_ , huh.

Sheik stood up, testing her legs to make sure she hadn't gotten injured yesterday. She was sore, of course—same as Link, she was sure—but she'd be just fine in an hour or so. By then she'd be used to the soreness.

"Are you sure? If there's anything you need—money, food, anything, just say the word, alright? Our home will be open to you as much as you need. You and Sheik both."

"Thanks, Coro," Link said, some hesitation in his voice. "But I have a feeling we won't be able to visit much…"

Sheik opened the door and stepped into the living room. Link and Coro blinked up at her from their position on the couch, and Sheik bowed her head in acknowledgment for Coro's hopsitality. "My apologies for sleeping so late."

"No, no, you looked pretty worn down," Coro said, smiling up at her. Link's expression matched Coro's, and Sheik couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with these two people so genuinely happy to see her. "You feeling better now, Miss Sheikah?"

"I'm fine," she said, moving closer and leaning against the couch. "But Link is right—we can't stay in Ecchar much longer. They might know it was him that found out about the tunnels, and they'll come looking for him. They've already lost five girls, and soon, they'll be losing even more."

Link furrowed his brows, confusion clear on his face. "I thought you agreed that we couldn't stay in Ecchar. If we're not here, how can we liberate them?"

"Who said we'd be the ones liberating them?" Sheik quirked a brow. "Those girls are doubtless going to tell their parents where they were kept. Soon, everyone will know about the taverns and the tunnels. Girls have been living in fear for a while—and their families have, too. Anyone who has a sister, a daughter, even a friend that's a girl in that age range… I have no doubt that in just a few days, people will be storming those tunnels."

"You really think people will step up?"

Link's doubt somewhat surprised Sheik. After all, wasn't he the optimist between them? But the look on his face wasn't one of disbelief, she realized—it was worry. Those girls were, after all, still in danger. And if people didn't step up, who knew what would become of them?

Sheik looked at Coro, the seed of an idea forming in her head. "If they don't, I'd be surprised. But it wouldn't hurt to call people to action."

Link looked up at her, eyes widening. "Sheik, there are monsters everywhere. Girls are hiding away in their homes…"

"And girls are huddled together in a cell underground. If their loved ones knew that they were just a story beneath their feet, do you think there'd be anything in the world that would stop them from saving them?" She pressed her lips into a frown. "Coro, tell me honestly. If we'd told you that your sister was in a tunnel underground, would you have at least looked for the tunnel's entrance?"

Coro looked, if anything, offended that she'd even asked. "I wouldn't have stopped looking till I'd found it. Any guard that got in my way, I would have ripped apart." Seeing Sheik's nod of encouragement, he continued, "And I know every other brother—every other father, and mother, and sister, and friend… we would all do the same."

"So, would you mind spreading the rumor that the girls are underground?" Sheik asked. "Because unless word spreads, the ones we couldn't find might be shipped off. This is just a holding site. Unless we hurry, we won't be able to get to the rest of the girls in time."

"I'll shout it in the streets if I have to," Coro said. "I know families who are still waiting on their daughters to be brought home. I'll tell them personally, and they'll tell their families and friends. I don't think there are many people who don't know someone who's gone missing, or gone into hiding."

The strength in Coro's voice brought some peace to Sheik's mind. And when she looked back at Link, she could tell that it was having an effect on him, too.

Ilia had almost been taken away from him, after all.

"If you really think so," Link said, "Then I bet we can raise the city to action by this evening. We can't afford to wait any longer."

"Will you two be here to help get people in action?"

Sheik glanced at Link and saw the hesitation in his eyes. Yesterday, he'd said that he could be killed if anyone knew he'd told anyone about the tunnels. As much as she wanted to tell everyone about the girls in the tunnels, it wouldn't be a good idea for Link to be a part of it—and it probably wasn't a good idea for him to even be in the city once the truth came to light.

And Sheik wasn't about to let him leave the city without her.

"We're going to skip town for a little while. Other cities have missing girls, too—we can focus our efforts there." When Link looked a little more relaxed, Sheik knew she'd made the right choice. "I have full confidence in you all. Just make sure everyone brings weapons. There might be guards down there."

"We can take them," Coro said, smiling up at her. "I can't thank you enough—both of you."

"We'd do it again," Link said. One glance at the window, though, and Link stood. "But I think it's about time for Sheik and I to take our leave. We can't get caught leaving the city."

Coro nodded sympathetically. "Well, don't forget your lanterns and fishing rods, yeah? And we have an extra bottle of red potion, if you need it."

Just as Link was about to decline the potion, Sheik piped up, glancing at the bandage around his arm. "We'll take it," she said. "Might come in useful for the next fight we're in."

Link frowned up at her, but Sheik paid him no mind, instead following Coro to where he kept his supplies. Her partner might have been irritated with her, but she knew he'd gotten hurt trying to get to her in the tunnels. She wasn't going to let him just walk around with an injury—especially not if she could fix it so easily.

Not for the first time, she wished she had the ability to heal.

But whatever Sheikah she had in her, it wasn't enough to do much magic at all. Goddesses above, she could barely do a few elemental spells before her body was absolutely drained. It was frustrating, knowing her magic was limited by her family history.

Yet another reason to hate her father, she supposed… Though even she could admit that it was petty to hate him for not being a full blooded Sheikah.

Still—over the last week, she'd found herself using more and more magic every day. Was it possible that she could learn to make more use out of what magic she possessed?

Even if it drained her every day that she practiced, wouldn't it be better to have more access to magic? Before, she hadn't needed it, but now… Now, she supposed, it might be a good idea to practice as much as she could so she'd be safer in an emergency.

And if her magic was the only thing that had broken the locks and saved those girls…

There was no other option: Sheik _had_ to learn to get more use out of her magic. Lives could very well depend on it.

* * *

They'd been on Epona for hours, till the sun finally started to dip towards the horizon.

Having traveled fast and far, Sheik felt a little less guilty about what she needed to ask, even if she still felt the constant, almost manic, urge to press on as far as they possibly could in the day.

"Link," she said, breaking the long silence of the afternoon. "Let's stop early tonight, while it's still light out."

Link nearly ran Epona off-course in his surprise.

"What did you say?" he asked, turning his head and looking her over, as if worried that she was injured. "Did something happen, Sheik?"

"Nothing like that," she said, lips pressing into a tight frown. "I just—I need to… while it's still light out…" Goddesses, why was it so difficult to admit that she wasn't perfectly strong already? "I… My magic isn't as strong as it should be. I need to train. And I'd prefer to do it while it's light out."

Link furrowed his brows, Epona slowing to a walk. "Well," he said, looking a little hesitant. "Are you sure? It seems to take a lot of energy."

 _Yes_ , Sheik wanted to say, stomach twisting in agitation. Yes, it took a lot of energy. _That's why she wanted to do it before it was dark, so she'd have time to sleep and not be useless tomorrow._

But instead, all she said was, "Those girls might depend on more magic. I'm not going to let them suffer because I neglected to train at it."

And, well, when she phrased it like that, there was really no way for him to deny her. So once Epona came to a stop, Sheik hopped down, taking her daggers with her.

If she was training with magic, it wouldn't hurt to practice with her throwing knives—and there was a nice tree she could probably use for target practice…

"Hey, if you're training with those, why not practice together a little?" Link asked, hopping down and grabbing his own sword. "I mean—you have some longer knives, and that katana, right? I could use some practice, too."

"You… want to train, too?" Sheik asked, stepping back and getting a good look at him. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I can't use magic, but I could always get better with my sword," he said, unsheathing it and examining the blade. "Plus I've never had a really fast sparring partner before. It'd be good to know how to defend against an enemy like that, right?"

Sheik weighed her options, knowing that she probably ought to spend more time using magic than sparring, but… if she used magic first, she simply wouldn't have any energy left to be a good sparring partner. If she was to do both, then she had to face Link first.

And, if she was being honest with herself?

She hadn't had a fun fight since she was young and got into street fights. Though she often left with bruises and a bloody nose, they were some of her more fond childhood memories—and part of the reason that she'd always loved Lanayru.

What could it hurt to spar with Link, really?

"I'll fight you for a little while," she said, forcing aside some of the guilt. She was still going to practice magic later, after all. She had no reason to feel so guilty. "You ready?"

For the first time since they'd left Ecchar that morning, she saw a smile break across Link's face. "I'm ready," he said. "I gotta warn you, though. I've trained at this for years."

Sheik rolled her eyes. "I take it you'll go easy on me, then, hm?"

"I make no promises." Link's smile only widened—and Sheik couldn't help but match it, just a little. He looked excited to fight with her, and he wasn't going to treat her like a weakling. How could Sheik _not_ be happy?

Their blades crossed in an instant, and Sheik couldn't help the excitement buzzing just under her skin.

Though she was careful not to be too aggressive, she knew Link was doing much the same—and yet, the longer the fight carried on, the more they played on their own strengths.

Link started lunging harder and deeper—but by the time he was going hard enough to truly hurt her, Sheik had already learned what to look for ahead of time. So, every time he came at her harder, Sheik dodged away.

She got more comfortable with her move-set, too. While Link went for a stronger approach, Sheik was happy to go for rapid-fire strokes. Link, though slower to lunge with his powerful movements, was quick enough to block her shots.

As a whole, though, Sheik had to admit that Link was a better swordsman. He was holding back, she knew—and a good thing, too, because she'd seen him fight when he was really trying to hurt his opponents. Seeing his moves up close, even as watered down as they were, she couldn't help but be glad he was on her side.

Still—even if Link was a better swordsman, Sheik was happy to challenge him, even if it was just a little. He really wasn't used to fast opponents, she could see that much. But though it was a struggle to constantly dodge his sword rather than parry—as she wasn't sure she had the raw strength to parry—she was happy to rain down a barrage of quick thrusts every time she got an opening.

However, after Sheik _barely_ dodged one of Link's more powerful thrusts, and Link nearly had his hair chopped from one of Sheik's fastest attacks, they decided to lay their weapons down.

It was by no means, though, the end of the fight.

Sheik had almost gone to practice her magic, but no sooner than she'd set her daggers and katana down did Link stand before her. As he had no sword, sheath, or outer tunic, she could only guess at what he wanted. And she didn't hesitate to match him. She laid her weapons down and removed her outer tunic till she was in only her navy bodysuit and bindings.

"I hope you know how to dodge," she said, smirking at him, "Because this is how _I've_ been training for years."

"I guess it's only fair," Link said. "Go easy on me, yeah?"

Sheik just grinned. "I make no promises."

* * *

By the time Sheik and Link stopped sparring, it was dark, and they each had bruises to spare. Though Sheik felt a bit guilty for putting off her magic training till after the moon was rising further and further into the sky, she couldn't feel too bad.

The smile on Link's face was enough to reassure her that even if she hadn't done as much magic, she'd still done something worthwhile.

So as he gathered wood for the night's campfire, Sheik sat on the grass, running through the short list of spells she was capable of.

She practiced them one by one, devoting careful concentration to each spell. And yet, when she got to her elemental spells—with ice as easy as ever, and a weak spell to move the earth, and an even weaker spell against the air and water—she couldn't help but wonder about fire.

Though she'd never been capable of it, and she wouldn't try it for fear of disappointment, Sheik nonetheless thought back to Impa's instructions on fire, so long ago. She thought about the uncontrolled, unrestrained emotion it required—the raw passion that it fed off of.

As Sheik felt the lingering buzz of adrenaline from the sparring, she wondered, for the first time in years, if she'd be able to create fire if she tried right then.

But she was tired, and she was still sure that if she attempted it, she'd just be let down. So instead, she unrolled her sleeping mat and pulled her blankets over her.

Maybe someday she'd find her fire.

Till then, she'd have to make do with ice.

* * *

 **((Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! A quicker update this time than the last few chapters, but I'll be traveling soon so the next one might take a little while to finish and edit and upload… Sorry. But hey, thank you so much for all of your reviews last chapter! I certainly hope you'll all like this chapter even more—and whether you do or don't, please, review and tell me! I love reading all of your comments!))**


	12. Chapter 12

**((rndomfan left a review asking about why, a few chapters ago, Sheik impersonated a Gerudo while running away in the market. After all, in this au, the Gerudo haven't been seen for centuries. I have to say: good job catching that one! It was a complete oversight on my part, and if/when I go back through and edit these, I'll be sure to correct that. For now, I suppose I can explain it away as Sheik being too panicked to really think about what she was turning herself into. Very sorry for that oversight, and I'll be more careful about that sort of thing from now on. ))**

* * *

In the morning, Sheik could feel her bruises before she even opened her eyes. But once she did, she saw Link within arm's reach in a similar state. The sight made her chest feel tight, and it took Sheik quite some time to identify what she was feeling, and why.

It wasn't until she realized she'd been watching Link for several minutes that she understood.

On their first meeting, Link had nearly died. He'd been a stranger, and she'd stumbled upon him in an alleyway being brutalized by guards. She'd helped him escape, then panicked and left him in an inn, not saying a word to him that first meeting.

And yet, here they were, several weeks later.

He was sleeping close enough that she could reach out and touch him if she wanted—and his arms were varying shades of red and brown and yellow.

Even though he was safe now, and she knew his injuries had been because of their sparring—and she had received nearly as many as he'd taken—she couldn't help but feel pain on his behalf.

It wasn't guilt, Sheik knew that much. She'd known enough guilt recently that she'd know that feeling anywhere.

Instead, all she could think now was that she was grateful he was here, and that he was well enough to have fought with her last night. The first time she'd ever seen him, he'd been so covered in blood that she nearly hadn't recognized him their second meeting.

Yet no matter what he'd been through—no matter how badly he'd been hurt—Link was still willing to spar with her—to fall at her hand, then get back up.

Sheik sat up, watching him for a moment more. But she knew she'd have to get up soon. Sunrise was nearly over now, and they had a long way to go. Where they were going, she wasn't sure yet. But they were nearly out of Ordon Province, so she knew they needed to decide soon.

Hoping not to wake him just yet, Sheik rolled up her blankets and put them in a travel bag. Because they had so little with them, it didn't take long for her to tidy up her things and load up Epona. Still, by the time she was sliding on her armor and debating what to use for breakfast, she heard Link start to stir.

"I'm ready to go as soon as you are," Sheik said, not turning to face him as she dug through the travel bags. "Do you want to lead Epona, or sit in the back?"

"Good morning to you, too," Link said, voice still thick with sleep. Sheik could hear him rolling up his blankets and getting up behind her, but she didn't turn to face him till she was sure he'd pulled his tunic back on.

The sight of his torso covered in bruises was something she wasn't fond of starting the day with, no matter how fun last night had been.

"So," Link started, sounding a little more awake. "Where are we headed?"

As Link put away his blankets and pulled on his boots, Sheik tossed him an apple. "Hena mentioned Ise, and the northern mountains. There's probably a bigger holding site of some kind up there."

"Kind of far for a holding site." Link frowned, taking a bite of the apple. "It might be the base they're bringing the girls to long-term."

Sheik frowned. "It doesn't make sense for Ise to be either short-term _or_ long-term," she said. "It's too cold. There aren't tunnels like there were in Ecchar. And if they brought the girls through all the ice of the Snowpeak mountain range, then they'd have to risk some of the girls dying on the path…"

"Not to mention they have to sneak past Zora's Domain. Everyone knows they aren't exactly _friendly_ to Hylians," Link said. "How would they avoid being charged with trespassing?"

There were too many strange things happening in Hyrule these days, and Sheik couldn't figure it out. Even before she met Ilia and found out girls were going missing, things were already starting to twist.

Like the soldiers and guards all heading for the Gerudo Desert, abandoning towns and leaving their people unprotected. And the threat on the Royal Family. And the Hylian-lookalike monsters. And Ardock.

Goddesses, would anything ever be normal again?

The thought of normal times, though, brought back memories of her nomadic youth, and hiding, and being the perfect thief.

And, speaking of thievery, she couldn't help but remember those jewelry pieces she'd lifted from Oxon. Though she'd promised herself she wouldn't see Ravio again—for his safety as much as hers, if she was being honest with herself—she knew he was probably her best bet for a good deal.

Not to mention she'd be a hypocrite if she cut him out of her life because he'd taken too much of an interest in her. Goddesses knew Link had attached himself to her side.

And seeing Ravio would mean going to Solen—and that was somewhere she knew Link wouldn't mind visiting, since both Telma and Ilia lived there now.

"How about we go back to Solen for a bit?" she asked. "It's on the way up north, so if we decide to continue up towards Ise, then we'll be well on our way. You can visit Ilia, and we can make sure she's still safe with Telma."

"Why wouldn't she be safe?" Link asked, already looking concerned.

Sheik shook her head. "I'm sure she's fine, but—I mean, it couldn't hurt to see her and check, could it? In Ecchar, people said that those monsters were starting to go into homes and just take girls."

That reminder was enough to get Link to hurry packing. Sheik almost felt bad—especially since her intentions were mostly to see Ravio so she could finally pawn off the goods she'd stolen—but her warning had gotten the job done.

Yet, the sight of Link so worried about Ilia made her stomach flip.

Ilia deserved to be worried over, she knew, and Link had known this girl since they were small. It wasn't a _surprise_ that he would be so concerned at the mere thought of his childhood friend being in danger. Sheik didn't have a problem with Link being worried for his friend, or for caring about Ilia.

Yet, as he hurriedly packed up the rest of his things and hopped onto Epona, Sheik couldn't help but feel a bit small as she climbed on behind him.

It wasn't jealousy, she knew, that was making her feel this way. It was just the reminder that everyone else in the world had someone to care for them. All the missing girls had homes to return to, had families to take them into their arms.

And yet Sheik, the cause of this mess, was the only one who had absolutely no one. It was her own fault, she knew, for not reaching out to friends through her life. She didn't want family—not adopted family, because she wouldn't allow anyone to replace Impa, and she certainly didn't want any of her blood relations.

But friendship…

Sheik wished, not for the first time, that she hadn't had to push people away to preserve her identity.

Even Link was too much of a risk, she knew. For as long as they were partners, she would stay beside him, but once they parted ways, she'd knew she would have to sever ties with him. It would hurt, of course. She could already tell that once he was done with her and left, she would feel an ache in her heart that wouldn't go away for weeks—same as with any friend she'd had to part ways with in her childhood. But she'd just have to do what she always did. When that ache threatened to overwhelm her, she'd just have to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and remind herself that this was how it had to be.

If she wanted her freedom, she'd have to be _alone_.

 _Loneliness_ , Sheik realized. That small feeling, that growing distance between her heart and her stomach. It was loneliness.

Loneliness, and the reminder that while Ilia had Link to worry for her and cross entire provinces just to check on her, Sheik had no one.

But she had the sky above Lanayru, and the earth beneath her feet, and her well-worn Sheikah warrior ensemble—her last gift from Impa.

They were all the home she needed, Sheik reminded herself. They were enough.

(For the first time in years, though, she felt a seedling of doubt.)

* * *

"I wish we knew what was up with those cities," Link said, voice quiet against the soft wind in the grass and the hum of bugs hiding in the trees. Their camp was peaceful tonight, but Sheik still found herself on high-alert. Even Link was still sitting up and keeping a lookout, even if he'd chosen to break the silence of their watch. "You know—Ardock and Oxon."

And Link must have been tenser than Sheik had realized, if he was dwelling on the _cities_ of all things. But Sheik supposed he had a point—they'd just been traveling along a road much like today's when they'd seen a fiery Oxon in the distance. Considering she'd seen both cities first-hand, Sheik couldn't help but be curious, too—and the conversation was necessary, she supposed, if she was to stay alert and not be lulled asleep by the peace and quiet.

"Whoever enchanted them must have been incredibly powerful," Sheik said. "They have a very different kind of magic than Sheikah magic."

"Yeah?" Link turned towards her, curious. "What's the difference?"

"Sheikah magic runs on life energy and is determined by how much Sheikah blood you have in your heritage," she said. "No Sheikah has enough energy to sustain magic that powerful."

"What kind of magic _is it_ , then?" Link asked, but just after the words left his lips, her explanation came together in his mind. "Sheik, wait—your magic's been running off of—"

"It must be some kind of dark magic that those cities are running on," Sheik said, cutting him off before he could lecture her. "There are some other types of magic in the world. This could be one of the commonly known ones, or something else entirely. I don't think we have enough knowledge of the enchanter to make that call."

"Does _all_ magic run off of life energy?" Link asked, and found himself faced with a glare. "—I mean, just out of curiosity. Maybe this guy's does, too. If it does, maybe we can make it backfire on him somehow."

"All magic runs off of _something_." Link's silence meant that he wanted to hear more—especially with those curious eyes trained on her—so, reluctantly, Sheik continued. "The Gerudo's magic comes from the sun. Hylian magic comes from a goddesses' blessing. The Kokiri's magic came from the same things that make plants grow, though we only ever had one source on that subject, so we still know very little about them. The Triforce has magic, too, and it's said that anyone who even has a piece of the Triforce will have otherworldly power." After sparing a glance at Link, though, Sheik knew he wasn't satisfied. "Alright, _yes_ , as far as we know, the Sheikah are the only magically blessed group to have their magic run on their own life force, are you happy?"

"No," Link said. "I'm not happy. Sheik, if your magic runs on your life force, wasn't it really dangerous to overuse it like you did?"

Sheik tightened her lips. "I know what I'm doing," she said. "I took a risk, and five girls were freed because of it. I didn't ask for you to carry me out of there—you could have easily left me behind."

To her surprise, though, Link fell into an icy silence. His posture stiffened, and his lips pressed into a tight line and held it for a while before he found his voice again. "You really think," he said, voice strained, "That I'd just leave a partner behind?"

"We're in this to save the girls," Sheik said. "I could probably get myself out if worst came to worst. So, yes, I respect your intelligence enough to think you'd leave me behind, because it would be the smart option."

When he turned to look at her, though, Sheik was surprised to find that he didn't look angry. Instead, he looked upset.

"I don't care about the smart option, Sheik. You're my partner. I'm not going to leave you behind."

But his words were too fresh from that night at Coro's house. Sheik remembered all too clearly what he'd said when he thought she'd been sleeping. And for him to repeat himself whether or not she was awake… Though Sheik wanted to accept it, her heart wouldn't allow it. "I can handle myself just fine," she said. "If there's situation where there's no way out, then I don't want you to try to go back for me. You understand?"

"I can't accept that," Link said. "I understand where you're coming from, and if you won't go back for me, I get it. But you can't ask me to do the same to you. I won't leave a partner or a friend behind."

Sheik raised her brows at _friend_. He already saw her as something more than just a partner or teammate?

Undeterred, Link continued. "Even if you don't plan on sticking around… I'll be here, alright? I don't—I've never been one to just—to leave someone. I'm in this for the long-haul, whether you like it or not. So if you leave after this is over, fine, but—I'll still be here if you need a partner again."

"Big words," Sheik said. But the bite to her words was gone. The agitation from before had all but died, and Sheik was left feeling small. "Let's let time be the judge of that, alright? You ought to keep your options open."

"Sheik…" He sounded like he wanted to continue the conversation, to make her believe him, rather than allow her to shelve this talk. But if she didn't kill this conversation, then she didn't know what might happen. "Don't just—"

No matter how small she felt, no matter how vulnerable her heart felt in that moment, Sheik couldn't allow him to change her mind. She'd done just fine on her own—who was Link to come in and try to convince her that she needed him?

So she summoned up her anger as best as she could, though neither fiery anger nor ice came easily to her. And the goddesses knew that she wasn't the best at acting. Still—she couldn't just let him convince her. She had her pride, if nothing else, and it was her pride that allowed her to find her voice once more.

"Don't what?" Sheik squared her shoulders and tilted her head up, forcing some irritation into her voice, even if the only one she truly felt irritated with was herself. "We've been partners for, what, a week? Don't act like you know what's best for me—you don't know the first thing about me."

Link's lips pressed into a thin line, and it looked like he was holding something back. What it was, Sheik couldn't place it. But he shook his head and set his sights straight ahead, on the open land of Hyrule Field. "If I know nothing about you, it's because you haven't told me anything."

"What, like you're supposed to want me to?" Sheik looked away, realizing that his silence meant that, yes, he probably _was_ interested. Goddesses damn it all. "Forget it. It's none of your business."

"You haven't told me anything about yourself, and you haven't asked me anything, either," Link pressed. "Look, I get it, you don't think of me as anything more than a temporary teammate—fine! But I'm trying to give you the option here, so you could at least acknowledge it!"

"The option of _what_?"

"Of actually letting someone in! I was raised on the streets, too, Sheik—I know how hard it is to trust people if you didn't grow up with them. I don't blame you for not wanting to trust me, and not wanting me to care about you. It's safer that way, I know," he said. "Look, all I'm saying is that I understand. And… and that I'm here. That's all I'm trying to tell you."

Sheik opened her mouth to argue, but she knew if she spoke now, she might not be able to keep her story to herself. Though she still couldn't bring herself to feel true anger, no matter how much Link pushed her, she couldn't help the whirlwind of thoughts that were stirring within her. _You don't know the first thing about me,_ she wanted to say. _I've been on my own since I was ten. I've wandered from town to town for years, never having enough. I've lied, I've stolen, I've hurt people. I saw more as a child than you've probably seen in your whole damn life,_ she wanted to say. _My father disowned me, and I spent five happy years with someone who actually gave a damn about me, and she died when I was still a child, leaving me alone with no one else to turn to. Everyone I've ever wanted to stay with, I had to leave to keep my freedom, because I couldn't trust them if they found out who I was. I've had to sacrifice my happiness, my comfort, my safety, and my emotions to keep my freedom—so don't you dare lecture me about_ trusting _someone._

 _There is no one I should trust, not even you. So stop asking me to try._

Sheik turned bodily away from him, startled to feel a tightness in her chest and a lump in her throat. But if she couldn't even trust _him_ , then there was no reason she was going to allow him to see her break down.

"If you're just going to ignore me," Link finally said, breaking the last few minutes' silence, "Then I'm going to bed." His tone was a bit gruffer than usual, and she could already hear him rummaging in the bags to find his sleeping mat and blankets. But before he'd even settled down to sleep, he piped back up again in his usual, gentle tone. "But the option's still there, alright? Even if you ignore me, and shut me out, and try to make me leave, I'm not going to give up on you. That's a promise, Sheik."

Sheik just gritted her teeth and stayed silent. Link finally took the hint and laid down on his sleeping mat, his breathing slowly evening out until it was nothing more than a peaceful accompaniment of the wind and the chirp of crickets hiding in the grass.

It wasn't until Sheik was sure he was asleep that she finally risked going to get her own sleeping mat and blankets. Not wanting to wake him, and not wanting to be near him when she was feeling vulnerable, she set it up some distance from Link.

But, as she lay awake, too agitated to sleep as she ran Link's words over and over again in her mind, she nearly jolted back up as she realized exactly _what_ Link had said.

Because, mixed in with his message of acceptance, and understanding, and, goddesses forbid it, friendship, he'd said something worrisome enough to make her blood run cold.

" _I was raised on the streets, too, Sheik!"_

 _Too._

Her heart was pounding in her chest, now, and she found she could barely breathe. Sheik didn't know what he knew—whether it was the full truth (had he seen her eyes, had he put the pieces together, did he know, _did he know_ , _**did he know**_?)—

-or just that she wasn't a proper Sheikah, she had no idea.

But _anything_ he knew was too much.

And yet—he had said that mixed in with such understanding and kindness. Even if he did know, he was asking her to trust him, and promising her over, and over, and over again that he wouldn't leave her or give up on her.

But if he knew she was lying to him about her identity, then why in Farore's name would he be so loyal?

Though the thoughts conflicted, and she couldn't sort out his intentions, his unwavering offer of friendship and partnership was enough to calm her. His original job, after all, was to protect the princess. Even if he did know, he wouldn't do anything to endanger her—and, likely, was smart enough to realize that any attention to her heritage would only draw unwanted attention to her, and probably get her kidnapped.

Link wasn't an idiot. If he had figured it out, he had to know that she needed to remain Sheik if she was to stay safe.

And yet—

No matter how she tried to reason with herself, and no matter how his reassurances calmed her, it didn't stop the worries in her heart. Because if he knew—and she was praying to all three golden goddesses that he didn't know—then that would mean he wanted to take her to the Castle, wouldn't it?

The Castle was no place for Sheik. Perhaps if she'd stayed Zelda, she would see it as a home. But she was _Sheik_ now—trained by Impa, and more familiar with the streets and hiding places of Hyrule than anyone else in the kingdom.

If she wanted to, she could sneak away tonight and never look back. She could make do with her own supplies, and the money she had left. She'd managed on less.

But if she left now, then she wouldn't be nearly as capable of aiding the missing girls. She might not be able to undo the curses left on cities around Hyrule. And, though she pushed the thought away and tried to tell herself it didn't matter, she knew she would be leaving Link, too. And the thought of leaving him behind made her stomach twist, even if he did know too much.

No matter the iciness between them now, and no matter that she felt her heart skip a beat every time she thought of him saying _"I was raised on the streets, too, Sheik!"_ she knew she couldn't just leave him.

Even though she knew that, though, that didn't stop her mind from weighing out the pros and cons of leaving. Every escape route, every city she could take refuge in, every weapon she would need to stay safe—but Link's face when she left was enough to make her reconsider her every move.

Sheik tried not to think about why that might be.

* * *

Morning brought a chill, beaten only by the continued icy silence between Sheik and Link. But Sheik wouldn't allow it to slow them down, so she packed up her things then woke her partner. No matter how he tried to get her attention or start up a conversation, Sheik ignored him, instead only focusing on packing up Epona.

It was a stark contrast to just a few nights ago, when they'd sparred. Any thoughts of finding her fire had vanished; ice had served her well enough before, so why should she try anything different now?

And, like her power with ice, her cold detachment was also the familiar choice. She slipped into it as easily as she guided Epona, pushing her faster and further than she knew Link would have allowed.

But to Sheik, it was worth it if they got to Solen sooner.

Though she knew she wouldn't abandon Link there, and that they'd be setting off for another city together once they finished their business in Solen, Sheik needed her space.

She needed to get what money she could, and find out information on her own. She needed to remind herself that she didn't need Link—that even if she did abandon him here, she could carry on just fine on her own.

 _Loneliness_ didn't matter. And her growing attachment to Link didn't matter, either. And if she'd let that get in the way of preserving her identity, then she was a fool and a child for hoping that someone would actually stick around.

It didn't take long to get to Solen from there, though, and soon Sheik led Epona to the outskirts of the city, paying a stable more than enough to care for the mare for the next several days.

With her things in a pack at her side, she started to walk towards the city. But Link's voice stopped her in her tracks, no matter how she wished she would have been able to ignore him.

"You're not—" Link started, sounding truly worried for a moment before his voice became almost uncannily calm. "You're not just leaving, are you?"

Sheik didn't turn around. "I have business to take care of," she said, and it surprised her how much she felt her heart sink when she heard silence behind her. Though she'd half been expecting him to look relieved at the possibility that she wouldn't come back, when she turned, she instead found him avoiding eye contact. But even though he wouldn't look at her, there was no hiding the worry and heartbreak on his face. The words left Sheik's lips before she could stop them. "But I'll be at Telma's by this evening."

Link looked up at her in an instant, surprise and relief flooding into his face. "So we're—"

"Don't pry into my history anymore," Sheik said, cutting him off. "But yes. We have a job to do. You're… Useful," she said, hating how callous she sounded. "I'm not going to just stop being your partner."

"I won't ask anything else if it bothers you." Link approached her, his own pack on his back, and offered her a hand. "…Are we alright, then?"

Sheik looked at his hand for a moment. Deep down, she knew that this wasn't just a pact between teammates. If she took his hand, she was opening herself up to all sorts of familiarity. After all, teammates didn't touch more than necessary. Helping each other, holding onto each other on Epona—that was one thing. But this was something new. Something different.

Sheik took his hand anyways. "We're fine now," she said. With that, she let go and adjusted her pack, looking towards Ravio's. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Alright," Link said, and Sheik just knew he had a smile on his face. "See you tonight!"

As she started down the road to Ravio's pawn shop, Sheik couldn't help but wonder just what she was getting herself into. But, she supposed there were worse people to trust. And if Link respected her privacy enough not to go digging into her past, then she supposed she could continue to work alongside him.

Still.

It bothered her that he seemed to know more about her already than he was letting on.

There were all kinds of saying about keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. But she'd never learned where teammates fell—and what to do if someone you worked with knew too much.

As she walked, she told herself that the reason she'd taken Link's hand was to keep him in line. If she was beside him, he wouldn't be able to spill her secrets because she'd always be there to stop him.

And, in a way, she knew her anxiety about her identity would make her do just that. No matter how trustworthy Link was, Sheik couldn't have him talk about her at all. The less people that knew she even existed as Sheik, the better. Too many people knew her as it was—she didn't need Link opening his mouth to anyone else.

But yet, as she rounded the corner to Ravio's shop, she knew that that wasn't the _only_ reason she'd taken Link's hand.

One way or another, she wouldn't leave him. She wouldn't allow him to get hurt if she could be there to protect him. If he was continuing his search, she wanted to be next to him, helping him every step of the way. She hadn't saved him for nothing the first time she'd seen him, after all—and she certainly wasn't going to let anything happen to him now that she knew him better.

* * *

"You're still alive?!"

Sheik had _just_ walked through Ravio's door. She hadn't even looked in the man's direction, hadn't pulled out her goods, hadn't even had time to _breathe_.

And yet, Ravio sounded the most excited she'd ever heard him. In an instant, he'd jumped over the counter and pulled her into a hug. On reflex, Sheik pushed him away, but even that didn't wipe the huge grin off his face.

"Well, I mean—of course you're still alive, they aren't really killing all those girls, I don't think, but—you're here! You're not kidnapped!" He was practically vibrating with excitement, and it was all Sheik could do to put a finger to her lips and shush him. "Sorry, sorry. It's just—it's been a while! I mean, it hasn't been that long, and you've been away for longer, but—with everything going the way it is, and all of those girls going missing even here… Goddesses, Sheik, I'm so glad you're still around!"

Sheik shifted uncomfortably. Ravio hardly knew her, and she got this strong of a reaction from him? She held her upper arm, looking distinctly out of place, though the pawn shop owner didn't seem to pick up on it. "I, um. I've been lying low," she said. _Ha_. "Don't worry, I've... Been avoiding the worst areas. Staying safe."

Ravio seemed encouraged to hear it—though Sheik almost felt bad, knowing that they were complete lies. "Well, that's good to hear, old friend! Whatever you do, don't go to Ecchar." Sheik averted her eyes, not that Ravio noticed. "I hear there's a whole lot of bad things going on there now that the kidnapping business is booming. Lots of cities are either being evacuated for weird things that are happening in them, or they're overrun with crime and kidnapping. Solen isn't bad yet, thank the goddesses, but I bet it's only a matter of time."

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line under her mask and scarf. "Have a lot of girls been going missing here?" she asked. She knew of at least one—the daughter of the man who'd threatened Link a few weeks ago. But on her way here she was sure she'd seen at least one or two girls her age, so the kidnappings must not have been quite as widespread as in Ecchar, where girls were afraid to leave their homes. "If there's any information you have, I'd like it."

"Information? Buddy, I'm a pawnbroker," Ravio said. "I get criminals all the time—especially now that all the soldiers and guards are in the desert, so I got nothin' _but_ information." After a moment, though, he turned a bit skeptical. "Wait, hey—if you're lying low, then why would you—"

"I'm a Sheikah, it's my job," Sheik said quickly. "I'm just trying to pass information along to people who can help."

Ravio still looked skeptical—and a bit wary, by the way he was glancing around his otherwise empty shop—but after a moment's hesitation, he took a deep breath and relaxed. "Alright, Miss Sheikah. But you better not tell anyone I said anything, I mean it."

"What do you take me for?" Sheik took out the jewelry she'd stolen back in Oxon. "Will this compensate for whatever information you can offer?"

Though she could see that Ravio was tempted, to her surprise, he shook his head. "I got my own reasons to want this all to end, yeah?" With a small smile, he added, "And… I mean, I know I said to stay outta Ecchar, and I mean it. But if you ever wind up there… There's a tavern near the middle of town. If, uh. You see a lady with dark hair and pretty red eyes… Could you—I mean… would it be possible…"

Sheik furrowed her brows. There was someone else in Ecchar with red eyes? But dark hair… She didn't _sound_ like a Sheikah. As Sheik puzzled through it, though, Ravio seemed to be losing confidence, and finally he just shook his head.

"Aw, nevermind. She probably wouldn't want to hear it." A troubled look appeared on his face, too, as he added, "Actually, all things considered, you probably ought to avoid Ecchar at all costs—and especially that tavern. It's not safe anymore."

Though Sheik nodded, she was already making plans to go exactly there next time she was in the area.

"But, uh, you were asking for information, huh," Ravio said. "There's been a lot of people trading in wares from a couple'a spots around Hyrule. Usually when I get a lot of things from far-away cities, all from different people, there's gotta be some kind of organized crime going on. And where there's organized crime… you might have a lead on the kidnappings."

"What cities have these goods been coming from?"

"Ardock—it's been abandoned for a while, and I don't think anyone's come back to it," Ravio said. "Come to think of it, you were the first one to turn in something from Ardock…"

Sheik looked away. "Anywhere else?" she asked, voice raising.

"No, no, hold on now—did you have something to do with Ardock being unfrozen?"

"None of your business," Sheik said, and realized all too late that anything other than a _No_ in this context would immediately be realized as a _Yes_.

"So you did do it! How did you do it? Some kinda Sheikah magic?" Ravio asked, leaning forward with wide, excited eyes. "Goddesses, I really gotta start spreading word that Ardock is safe now, otherwise the people returning will have no goods to return to!"

"Ravio," Sheik said, grabbing hold of his shoulder to get him back on track. "Please. The other towns?"

"Right, right," he said. "Well, there's Ise, and I recently got one or two things from Oxon, and I heard rumors that that one was on fire recently. Ise and Marr are the ones where I hear about the most kidnappings happening, though. And with Ecchar being the way it is, it's starting to look like the west is the only safe area we have left."

Sheik pursed her lips. Marr, too… She and Link would have to go East sometime soon, then. "What about rumors of strange things happening to cities?"

"The weird stuff?" Ravio hummed. "Nothing too clear, but there's been a lot of people fleeing from Sarin, Tal, and Kakariko, but I'm sure you already knew that, it being your hometown and all."

"My," Sheik started, face paling. "My hometown?"

"You're a Sheikah, aren't you?" Ravio raised a brow. "Don't Sheikah come from Kakariko before they go to work at the castle? Hey, speaking of which, how'd you escape from there, anyways?"

Sheik tried not to look too relieved as she forced her heartbeat to slow. "If I said anything, rumor might spread and they'd tighten security on the rest," she said quickly. "Sorry. But—do you know what happened to those cities?"

"They're saying that Sarin's turned into some kind of strange jungle, and Tal has been raised high into the sky. No one knows how to even get up there, but fortunately all the people managed to escape in time. Whoever's doing these weird things to the towns sure is doing a lousy job if they're looking to hurt people. As far as I know, there hasn't been a single casualty at any of these places!"

"Kakariko, though," Sheik prodded. "What about Kakariko? What happened to it?"

Ravio quirked his lips up into a frown. "That's the thing. No one really knows. It just all of a sudden vanished. Some say the very ground swallowed it up, and others are saying that it disappeared forever, or teleported halfway across the world and hasn't been found yet. There's nothing but grass left where it once stood."

Sheik closed her eyes. "Thank you," she said, hoping not to let grief overwhelm her. Even if she was a nomad now, Kakariko was where she had spent her only good years. It was where Impa had raised her and taught her. It was where she'd picked wildflowers every day to set at the table.

It was where Impa was buried, too. Had her grave vanished along with the city?

Sheik took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly so that she'd be calm enough to find her voice again. "I…I'll pass on the information."

As she turned to go, though, Ravio caught hold of her wrist. "You were gonna trade in that jewelry, weren't you?" he said. Though his voice wasn't one that adopted gentleness well, Sheik knew he was trying. Ravio was trying to help, in his own way, and Sheik had to avert her eyes to keep from getting too emotional. "I'll give ya a fair price for it, how about it?"

"Thank you," she said, and handed him the jewelry from Oxon. Though he looked up at her with a curious expression—presumably because of its origins—Sheik didn't pay it any mind. Let him wonder. He'd been helpful, and she half wished she could tell him more about Ardock, and Oxon—even what had happened in Ecchar, since he seemed particularly concerned with that area. But she could scarcely breathe, let alone speak in full sentences.

Because Kakariko was _gone_.

If she'd been there to protect it, maybe it would still be standing.

But goddesses, it was so close to Castle Town. Even now, knowing that it needed saving… Would she be brave enough to even visit its remains?

* * *

Though Sheik's pack felt heavier with the added bonus to her wallet, it was the knowledge of Kakariko that was weighing her down the most. So as she walked up to Telma's bar, it was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other and trudge past the welcome desk and the bar.

Sure, she could sleep here, and wash up, and visit Ilia, and Telma, and talk to Link. Here was a place of rest, and of safety.

But what good was _her_ safety when Kakariko was gone?

With a heavy heart, Sheik made her way up to the upper rooms, finding Link already occupying one. As it had two beds and the other one was empty, she could only assume that they were supposed to share a room. She didn't hesitate as she unpacked her things, but once she'd ran out of tasks, she found herself absolutely numb.

For once, she had no idea what to do with herself. So she took a seat on the edge of the empty bed and just stared at the wall.

She felt too empty inside to let her hair down, to take off her mask and scarf. Even if she was just in Link's company, she felt too numb to move—let alone do something to make herself comfortable. What was her comfort for, when Kakariko was gone? What could she possibly hope to gain from anything that wasn't immediately seeking out the fate of her home?

And yet—

 _Could_ she even return?

Was she brave enough to risk getting caught? It was so close to Castle Town, and with so many people looking for the King's Daughter, she'd have to hide every step of the way. Would she even be able to save Kakariko if she was sneaking around so much?

Rationally, she knew it was just a _place_. Granted, a place with some of her only fond memories—but a place nonetheless.

But it had been _her_ place, before. Her and Impa's.

And if Kakariko was gone, and Impa had been buried there… Then it was almost like losing Impa all over again. All of the memories they made in that small home on the outskirts of the village. All of the wildflowers she'd plucked for the table then laid out on the grass. Every night that Impa had tucked her in and told her stories of princesses and heroes long past—

Every tangible memory of her childhood was gone now, in the blink of an eye.

Sheik couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

It wasn't until Link crossed the room and sat beside her that she realized he must have been trying to talk to her. But she didn't turn her head towards him. She just stared at the wall across her, gaze as hollow as she felt.

"What happened?" Link asked, tentatively reaching out to her. His hand found its way onto her shoulder, and she was far too numb to move it off of her. "You can talk to me, you know?"

It took Sheik a long time to find her voice. But when she finally did, the words didn't feel like her own. They were dull, and flat, and heavy with grief. "Kakariko," she said. "Kakariko is gone."

* * *

 **((Actual notes on Sheik and Link's relationship and why first impressions matter: When Sheik finds Link, he's hurt and she's not sure if he'll live, so she does her best to save him. That's a very powerful first impression. Any time she saves someone, she wants to check in on them and make sure they're alright, so from the start, she was always going to care about his safety and wellbeing. Hence, when he's upset, her first instinct is to try to help him, even if she doesn't trust him. However, as time goes on, she sees him as more and more capable, which is why she lets him stick with her. As for Link, his first impression of Sheik was someone who was strong, fierce, kind, and independent. But over time, he's seen more and more of her weaknesses. As someone who's looked out for and provided for Ilia for most of his life, he quickly takes a more protective stance over Sheik because he's used to being a provider and a defender. When he saw the bruises on her back when she was thrown into that table, that's when he decided that, though Sheik seemed determined to do everything alone, Link wanted to be beside her to help her as much as he could.**

 **Sorry for the longwinded rant but I just really wanted to explain, just in case anyone was confused about their interactions and why they behave the way they do around each other. Thank you so much for your reviews and your favs and follows—and I hope that you like this chapter as much as you liked the last one! Please, if you like it, and even if you don't, review! I'd love to hear what you all have to say about this one!))**


	13. Chapter 13

**((This chapter is being posted somewhat late—sorry. I injured one arm a few days ago, so I wasn't able to type with my left hand at all until I was allowed a smaller splint. But now I have more of a range of movement, so I can finally complete this one. Very sorry about the wait all the same. Also: I don't think I've ever given a time estimate of how long Sheik has known Ravio, but if I have, please ignore it.** _ **This**_ **chapter has the accurate amount of time. I don't know if any of you guys think I've had this thing planned out all the way through till the end but. Ha. I'm kind of. Figuring out a lot of this as I go tbh.))**

* * *

Sleep eluded Sheik most of the night. No matter how much she told herself there was nothing she could have done to prevent Kakariko's fall, it didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

But as she woke from shallow sleep for the tenth time that night, she found that she wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. Dawn had just broken, shining brightly over Solen—but it also revealed that Link was no longer in the room.

His bed was made, and his tunic was gone.

Sheik couldn't help but frown. Thinking back over the last few days, Sheik felt rising concern for her partner. Getting up before her wasn't a problem in itself, obviously—and it was nice when she didn't have to go through the trouble of waking him. But when it was barely dawn, and they were in a safe place, and it looked as though Link had already been up for a while?

She knew he had his own issues, and she wasn't going to intrude.

But Link was still her _partner_. And if there was a way she could help, she needed to find it. So, with that in mind, Sheik re-dressed herself, knowing she needed her mask and scarf if she was going to talk to anyone today. Between concern for Link and for Kakariko Village, her feelings would be far too difficult to mask without her actual mask.

As she was heading out the door, though, she heard voices coming from just down the hall. Sheik pressed against the wall and sidled down, careful not to make noise. She couldn't care less about an early-morning conversation between people she didn't know, after all, but she still didn't want to get caught.

It wasn't until she heard who was speaking though, that she stopped within hearing range.

"—oh, honey," Telma's voice was saying. "Was it the tunnels again?"

"It doesn't matter," Link said (and that was as good as a yes as far as Sheik was concerned). "It's too late to go back to sleep now. Sheik gets up _insanely_ early. I don't want to come back and wake her."

Telma was quiet for a while, but when she spoke again, her voice was a sigh. "Well, I still have plenty to get done in the kitchen. You can always sleep in my room, honey, you know that."

"I know. I'd just—I'd rather not go back to sleep."

"Is there a reason they're getting bad again?" Telma asked, concerned. When Link was quiet for a while, Telma sounded, if anything, more worried. "Oh, honey… Don't tell me you went back to Ecchar with her."

"I didn't—I didn't see _her_ there. It's fine," he said. "I mean—we went through the tunnels, but—"

"You went _there_?"

"We saved five girls all at once," Link said. "I _promise_ you, it was worth it."

Telma didn't sound wholly convinced. "You don't need to go back there to prove anything, honey, you know that, don't you?"

"I'm not doing it to prove anything. As far as I know, I'm the only one outside of their group that ever knew the layout. If I hadn't told Sheik about the tunnels, I don't think we would have been able to save them."

"And what does she think about you returning there, hm? She's your partner. If she cares about you a whip, she wouldn't have risked your life like that—"

"Sheik?" Link sounded confused. "We've only been partners for a little while, why would I have said anything to her? I'm not planning on telling her, either. She's got her own stuff to deal with. The last thing I want is to make her feel bad about me just 'cause I can't handle some stupid…"

"It's not stupid," Telma said firmly. "They nearly _killed_ you, honey. It only makes sense that you don't like them." When Link was sullenly quiet, Telma sighed and allowed the subject to drop. "Did you at least get some decent sleep while you were in that city?"

"We were only there for two nights. I'm _fine_ , Telma. Honestly. Once we were out on the road—"

"Once you were out on the road, you slept because you were too tired to avoid it anymore," Telma cut in. "I know you, honey. You might still be young, but you need your sleep if you want a clear mind."

"I know, I _know_. It's just," he said, hesitating. "It shouldn't still bother me. It's been almost three years already! I should be past this by now."

By now, Sheik had heard far too much to risk getting caught. Their door was cracked open, and Sheik could make out Telma crossing the room to pull Link into a quick hug—meaning that Telma was facing _away_ from the door, and Link was far too short to see over Telma's shoulders.

It would be the perfect opportunity for Sheik to leave. But as she held her breath and prepared to take that first step towards the stairs, she hesitated.

Even though she wasn't supposed to have heard any of that—and even though she knew Link didn't want her to know—Sheik's concern wouldn't allow her to leave. What she would say, she had no idea. She couldn't promise Link that they would never go to Ecchar again. She couldn't say that everything was going to be alright, because she had no way of knowing that. All she could do was promise to be there for him—and yet, he didn't seem to even want that, since he hadn't told her anything.

Sheik couldn't help but wonder if this was how Link had felt just a few days ago, when he'd offered his friendship and she'd refused to let him in.

But that was different, she reminded herself. She was the King's daughter. She couldn't tell him anything without risking her safety.

Link didn't know that, though. So to him, there was absolutely no difference.

Sheik set her lips into a thin line. She'd have to ignore everything she'd just heard, then. After all, though she knew he was struggling—and maybe she ought to let him sleep a little later while they were on the road—she still didn't know what had happened to him in Ecchar.

It was none of her business, and if she asked Link, he'd probably take it as an invasion of his privacy, just as Sheik had felt when he'd tried to ask her. She'd just have to put it out of her mind. To respect his past, and let it alone. And to do that, she'd have to leave before she heard more.

And yet, just as she was steeling herself to start for the stairs, Link spoke up again.

"I wonder if anyone else was kicked out," he said. "Just—if there's someone else that's… that's been through the same thing."

"Oh, honey…"

"I don't mean—I don't _want_ someone else to have gone through the same thing, I just." Link's voice sounded strained, and Sheik had trouble making out his words. "—if _he_ saw through her…"

"You know how well she hid things," Telma said, and Sheik could just barely make out her figure moving away from Link's. Dammit—she'd missed her opportunity to leave. "She probably told him you were dead."

"He was like _family_ ," Link said. "The only person there who actually cared about me, and I…"

"You couldn't have known that he was with her." She pulled Link in for another quick hug, half-facing the door this time. Sheik held her breath. "Ravio was a good man, from everything you told me. He might have left once he saw what Hilda was becoming. He might be in another city, hiding out for all we know. Have a little faith, honey, I'm sure he'll come around."

But Link's answer was drowned out by the names Telma had said.

Hilda could only be the full version of the name Link had started to call her, back in Ecchar. And Ravio's description of dark hair and red eyes… She must have looked like her that night—and for Link already being in Ecchar—

But it wasn't just Hilda's name that made Sheik's heart stop.

Because, between Ravio's description of Hilda, the woman in Ecchar, and _his own reasons for wanting this to end_ , and—goddesses be damned, obviously his _name_ —

"Ravio," Sheik said.

Both Link and Telma whipped around to face the door.

"I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear. I just left my room and was heading downstairs," Sheik said hurriedly. "But I overheard the name and—do you mean the pawnbroker on the other side of town?"

Link's eyes widened. "Here, in Solen?"

"Yes. I visited it just last night," Sheik said. "I've been doing business with him for—almost three years now. He's got dark hair and blue eyes… A bit taller than you, but not by much. Does that sound like—?"

In an instant, Link rushed past Telma to the door, grabbing Sheik's wrists as if he was afraid she'd leave before she answered him. "Where in town is he? Show me, please, I need to see him—"

"His shop doesn't open for another hour or two," Sheik said, taking a step back. Desperate as Link was, she still wasn't going to let him invade her personal space. "But I can show you once it's open. Who is he to you?"

Link didn't answer, instead just shaking his head. Sheik was alarmed to find tears in his eyes, a stark contrast to the smile he was sporting. Finally he pulled his hands away from her, using them to wipe away the beginnings of tears.

Telma stepped outside the door, suspicious eyes on Sheik. Whether she was doubting her promise that she hadn't been eavesdropping or doubted that Sheik knew Ravio, Sheik wasn't sure. But she knew Telma probably wasn't happy about her taking Link to Ecchar, even if she hadn't known about his rocky history with the place. "Ravio was like an older brother to this little one," she said, placing a hand on Link's shoulder and giving Sheik a meaningful look. "Link hasn't seen him for almost three years."

There was an unspoken threat there, Sheik knew. _Don't get his hopes up for nothing_.

Sheik had no plans to. "Well, he'll have a chance to see him later this morning," she said. "I can't be totally sure it's the same person, but…"

"It's worth a shot," Link said, expression brighter than she'd ever seen. "I can't believe—out of everyone, your pawner is _Ravio_ of all people!"

"I was surprised when I heard his name, walking by," Sheik admitted, "But I shouldn't have been. Last night he mentioned Ecchar, and described the appearance that…" Not wanting to embarrass Link, or tell him that she remembered his sudden panic at seeing her with dark hair, Sheik shook her head and changed tracks. "…He gave me information about much of Hyrule, and seemed particularly interested in Ecchar, that's all."

Link looked grateful that she hadn't gone into detail—especially with Telma's gaze on the pair of them.

Telma's protectiveness over him was something Sheik couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous of, though, as she avoided Link's eyes and looked instead towards the stairs. He was loved, that was for sure. By Telma, by Ilia, and apparently even by _Ravio_.

It wasn't hard to figure out why. He was friendly and kind and protective of others—willing to put himself in danger to help people he'd never met, with absolutely no benefit or responsibility driving him. Not like the guilt and pressure that was driving Sheik. In all manners of speaking, he seemed to be like the heroes of old. A boy who came from nowhere, who simply wanted to help people because it was the right thing to do. No wonder so many people loved him.

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line, forcing the thoughts out of her mind. It did her no good to be jealous. It was good that Link was loved and appreciated by those around him—especially since he'd clearly been through some difficult things earlier in his life.

Far be it from Sheik to come against the people who came alongside her partner.

But, as Link turned to Telma, chattering excitedly about meeting Ravio, Sheik couldn't help but feel like an outsider. So she tuned him out and excused herself, making her way hurriedly to the kitchen and bar downstairs.

The last thing she wanted was to put a damper on his happiness. This was a moment where he'd get to reunite with someone who was like _family_ to him, in his own words. And she knew that if she stayed, she'd only end up dragging him and his mood down, no matter how glad she was that he'd found someone so precious to him.

So she'd stay out of the way for him, and let him celebrate with Telma. And later, when she led him to Ravio's shop, she was more than willing to stand in a far corner and just watch the pair, lest her moodiness interfere with Link's happiness there, too.

After all, what was a few more hours of loneliness to _Sheik_?

Besides—from afar, somehow it was easier to be happier for him. As she listened to Link's questions and hopes and worries, Sheik couldn't help but share a part of his joy. Even though Link was receiving such good news the day after Sheik had lost Kakariko, she couldn't find it in her to feel slighted—by Link, anyways. She felt the beginnings of anger at the goddesses, but far be it from her to share that with anyone.

Jealous or not, Sheik couldn't help but smile for him. Link was her partner, after all. And what kind of a partner would she be if she didn't feel happy for him?

At least a little, anyways.

* * *

Link's trembling hands were the first thing Sheik noticed as they approached the pawn shop. It wasn't _fear_ that shook him, though—the excitement on his face was enough to tell her that. And yet, no matter how much he smiled, there was a nervous edge to it.

"You'll be fine," Sheik said. "From everything I've seen, he's completely harmless. The worst he'll do to you is _hug_ you."

"I know _that_ ," Link said. His cheeks pinked, embarrassed by his over-excitement (and not for the first time that day, either). "Do you really think he'll recognize me, even if it is him?"

"You said it's only been three years. I can't imagine you'd look that different." Matter-of-fact as ever, Sheik's statement only prompted an eye-roll from Link. "What? People don't change nearly as much as they think they do."

"Well, I'm sure _I_ did," Link said. "For one, I'm taller."

Sheik raised a brow. "Can't be by much, unless you were an absolutely _tiny_ kid."

"I was fifteen when I last saw him, not a kid. And I'm not that short!" Link's lips formed a pout, and Sheik realized with a start that this pouting child was _eighteen_. His face seemed far too young to be eighteen, with his full lips and round cheeks and wide blue eyes. But even if he didn't look much older than sixteen, she knew he'd already earned his place as an equal. It was just surprising to know that he wasn't _actually_ as young as she'd assumed.

He was still short, though.

But the conversation seemed to done its job, because while Link defended his height, he seemed to have pulled himself out of his worries. His hands had stopped shaking, she noted, somewhat proud of herself for distracting him. If she let him go back to his thoughts, though, he'd likely end up just as nervous as he'd been before. If cheap insults were what it took to get Link to relax, then she supposed she'd just have to continue.

(For some reason, though, the teasing seemed almost _friendly_ , and Link didn't seem to be taking more than mild offense. Sheik took it as a go-ahead, a small smile under her mask.)

"I'm short for a Sheikah my age," Sheik said. "But most Hylian men at _least_ match my height. And yet, you barely come up to the tip of my ears. If that doesn't count as short, then I'm not sure what does."

Link's expression suddenly brightened, and he rose to the tip of his toes as if trying to compensate for his limited height. "You just said you're short for a Sheikah! How can you insult me when you're short, too?"

"Because my size allows me to fit into smaller locations, which is advantageous to my culture and their tradition of hiding. Shortness isn't frowned on in my heritage," Sheik said. "Whereas _Hylians_ seem to enjoy boasting about their size and strength so that everyone can look at them and praise them."

Link fell back onto his heels, practically _pouting_ again. "Rude." When Sheik just raised a brow, Link walked a little faster, surprise on his face. "You really think Hylians act like that?"

Sheik sized Link up again, then shrugged. "Well. Most Hylian _men_ do, anyways," she said. "I suppose you're the exception to the rule."

"Coming up a bit _short_ with that stereotype then, huh?"

Link's bright expression spoke to her before his words even processed. She shoved his shoulder, ignoring his laughter as he straightened up and hurried after her.

Was this what Link was like when he was at ease? Sheik felt a pang in her heart as she realized just how serious and on-edge he'd been while they were in Ecchar. Her first encounters with him had been so lighthearted compared to how he'd been there. How had she not noticed that something was wrong?

His fear of being captured, the startled worry on his face at every dangerous plan she suggested, the outright anxiety attack he'd had when she came back with dark hair—

It had only been a few days ago, and yet Sheik felt guilt rising as she realized how little she had _cared_. How little she, a _Sheikah_ , someone supposed to be _perceptive_ , had noticed.

Telma's unspoken threats that morning may have been about not giving Link false hope, but the message Sheik received was one of an entirely different nature. Link was loved, and had many people who cared about his safety and wellbeing. Every moment he spent with Sheik was a moment he was entrusted to her by the people who cared for him. Though Link was clearly more than capable of defending himself so long as he had a weapon—Sheik winced at the memory of their first meetings—he was still just a boy.

Sure, he was eighteen. And, yes, Sheik had been living on her own for the last nine years, since she was just ten—making her only _slightly_ older than him.

But he had people to come back to. And if Sheik had any decency in her at all, then she would make sure he came home to them.

She couldn't apologize for what she hadn't done, though. For what she hadn't felt. So Sheik held her tongue and continued walking, praying that her silence wouldn't undo the good she had done in distracting him.

But in her silence, and as they steadily approached the side of town that Ravio's shop was in, she could see the nervous energy returning to him.

Sheik looked away.

Before she even had a thought of what to say to put him at ease again, Sheik saw the sign over the top of Ravio's shop—and she knew Link couldn't have missed it. She approached slowly, giving Link as much time as he needed to take it in and look over it, in this tiny, downtown patch of Solen.

And as they approached the doorway, Sheik stopped when Link did.

"You… you go in first," Link said, sharply taking in a breath. "Let me just—I wanna hear his voice first. I wanna know if it really is him." He trained his eyes on the ground. "I don't want to even bother going in if it's…"

Sheik nodded. But before she opened the door, she turned and rested her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Touch was still quite foreign to her after so many years without it, but if it would help her partner (her friend?) get through this, then she was more than willing to try it.

It seemed to have made Link feel better, too—at least by a little. He managed a small, strained smile before taking a step back, giving Sheik room to open the door without Ravio being able to see Link outside.

"A customer?" Ravio asked, poking his head out of his office. "Funny, I don't usually get customers this early—Sheik?" He looked her up and down, a curious expression on his face. "Everything alright? You usually don't visit the day after you've already visited…"

As he stepped onto the shop floor, Sheik heard a startled breath from behind her. That was all she needed as confirmation, so she stepped aside. "There's… there's someone I'd like you to meet," she said, glancing at her partner, who looked more nervous than she'd ever seen him. But he walked forwards anyways, even if he seemed unable to speak. "He's my partner," she explained, and watched as recognition dawned in Ravio's eyes. "His name is Link."

No sooner than the words had left her lips, Ravio ran forward and lifted the shorter boy into a hug.

"I thought you were dead!" Ravio exclaimed. "You weren't—Hilda said—I mean, I _saw_ , but—when I didn't see you, I thought—"

"You've been in Solen this whole time?" Link asked, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Why did you come to Solen if you thought I was dead? Why didn't you stay with—"

"Kid, _I_ was the reason _you_ came to Solen," Ravio said. "I set you up at that inn, paid the lady to take care of you till you were well—but I guess you were too beat up to remember. Thought you'd make your way back to stealing, since that was how we found you in the first place, so I…" He glanced around the shop, a sheepish smile on his face. "I figured it was the best way I'd find you again. This city is huge, and—with my history with Hilda, it's not like I can show my face in public very often. So…"

Link, though, didn't seem to process the other's explanation. If anything, he looked confused—completely stuck on one point. " _You_ brought me here?"

"I left you at some inn near the middle of the city," Ravio said. "Then I booked it back to Ecchar so Hilda wouldn't think I was disloyal. But…" He shrugged, patting Link's shoulders. "I couldn't stay with her. She was going to just—to just let you die that night. I couldn't work with her anymore. So I came here, hoping you were still alive, but I never saw you again, so I thought you really had died. With the injuries you had…"

Link suddenly shook his head. He glanced quickly at Sheik, then away, his face burning after he realized she'd been listening. "Let's—Let's not talk about that night, alright? I've been trying for three years to forget it. It's the _last_ thing I want to think about now that I finally… now that you're here."

Though the affectionate tones alone were enough to make Sheik uncomfortable, it was Link's clear discomfort at her presence that made Sheik want to leave. No matter how she wished he'd talk to her, she wouldn't stick around if she was making him nervous.

So she took a step away from the pair, passing close enough to Link that she could brush her hand against his shoulder again.

"I'll be outside," she said. "You two have a lot of catching up to do, don't you?"

Before Link or Ravio could say a word—either to tell her goodbye or do the _polite_ thing and ask her to stay even though she wasn't wanted—she hurried out the door, closing it softly behind her.

It was better like this, Sheik knew. That way, she wouldn't eavesdrop and invade Link's privacy any more than she already had. And yet, as she climbed onto the rooftop and took a seat, she couldn't let go of what she already knew.

Her mind was swimming with names and places and facts—things that she knew, and things she wished she hadn't heard, and things she'd give anything to know more about.

Who was Hilda to Link? And who was she to Ravio?

From Link's descriptions of the tunnels in Ecchar, and how long it had been since he'd been back, and the time period he'd left Hilda—three years, three years, three years—she could only assume that he'd _worked_ with her. That they had been in a criminal organization that utilized the tunnels underneath Ecchar. And from how they spoke of Hilda, it was probably a better guess that Link worked _for_ her.

And Ravio must have been quite close to her, too. They had similar dark hair, so she wanted to assume that they were siblings. But then, Link and Ilia both had light hair, and Sheik was fairly sure _they_ weren't related by blood, even if they had spent their childhoods together.

Sheik had tried not to think about it, lest she get too attached to her partner, but… knowing what Ilia had told her, the night she brought her away from Ecchar, and knowing that, according to Ilia, Link had been with her through it all… Sheik didn't want to think the idea through. That an organization of criminals would pick an orphan from the streets and train him to do their dirty work…

Link had been stealing when they found him the first time, Ravio had said. And the last time he'd seen him, Hilda had left him to die.

Sheik closed her eyes, forcing down the anger she felt on Link's behalf.

If she dwelt on it for too long, she knew she'd try to piece together how Hilda had hurt him. And that was something she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

It was too personal—too raw—too much of Link's story that he hadn't told her himself. Someday, he might tell her, but it wasn't the right time for her to ask. Not after that uncomfortable look he'd sent her. Not after he'd 'been trying for three years to forget about it.'

So instead, she took a slow, deep breath, and let herself think back to the childhood she'd lost. The one she'd left behind when Impa had died. It calmed her more than anything else she could do—more than any brave declarations that all she needed was her freedom. Those memories were more precious to her than any she could make with the life she had now.

Yet, as she tried to remember the lighthearted times, all she could think of was how similar this felt. Being the outsider on a hushed conversation she wasn't meant to hear—conversations that she desperately wished to overhear and understand.

But at least when she lived with Impa, sometimes she could sneak out of her room and listen anyways. Right now, Sheik couldn't bring herself to move.

* * *

"— _Zelda's in bed, you menace. You have no right to be here as it is, but risking waking her—"_

 _Zelda tiptoed, casting a silencing spell around her. It wasn't very big, and she wasn't entirely sure she'd canceled out all the noise, but so long as she tip-toed and went slowly, she should be fine. She just couldn't let Impa know that she was out of bed at this hour._

 _But the door had opened late at night, and she'd heard Impa angrier than she'd ever heard her before. She had to know what was going on if she was ever going to get to sleep._

 _Her papa had been angry and shouting the day he gave her away, after all. Zelda had been too young to understand or even remember what he'd been shouting about, but she'd heard her own name a few times. And now, she'd heard her name again._

 _What if Impa was also preparing to give her away?_

 _Impa's voice was clear as anything, but Zelda couldn't make out the deeper one behind the door. Was Impa muffling his voice on purpose?_

 _Zelda furrowed her brows, finding that her ears couldn't pick out his words no matter how she tried. Fine, then—she'd just have to pick out what he was saying from Impa's replies._

" _She doesn't want to see you, even if she wasn't asleep." A pause. "You know damn good and well why she doesn't want to see you, you vile—!"_

 _Zelda blinked wide blue eyes. Impa had cursed?_

 _Half of Zelda wanted to believe that the man outside was her father, but Impa always spoke so kindly of him. She wouldn't curse_ him _out, would she?_

 _Above all else, Zelda trusted Impa's word. So if she was cursing at this man, it couldn't be the man she spoke so highly of. Besides, Impa knew how much Zelda missed her father. Surely she wouldn't be turning him away if it was him?_

" _She's happy here," Impa said. "I'm teaching her everything I'm supposed to, don't you doubt it. She's learning magic, which will do her a hell of a lot better than any royal training will. She isn't meant to be a Princess and you know it. She can do so much more than that."_

 _Impa's words were making her head spin, and all Zelda could think was that this was a teacher who had come to check on her._

 _Maybe even one of the guards was here, delivering a message to her father. Maybe it was one of the guards she didn't like, which explained Impa's outburst of 'she doesn't want to see you.' Though, Zelda couldn't remember ever talking to Impa about any of the guards she'd liked or disliked…_

 _Zelda bit her lip. Whether or not she liked the guard, she hoped it would deliver a nice message to her father. Even though she'd been away for two years, she still missed him._

 _She wrote him letters every day—to him, and to his wife, and to the little one they'd made shortly after Zelda had to leave._

 _She asked Impa every day if she had any news from the castle, or any letters back._

 _Even when Impa would read her bedtime stories, Zelda never failed to ask about the kings in those stories. (And, in the legend of the Hero of Time, Zelda always asked about that Zelda's heritage, and friends, and family. 'When the Hero was sent to his proper time, was the princess's father still alive? Did he care for her? Did he think of her often—?')_

 _But every time she asked, Impa just gave her a kiss on the forehead and quickly finished the story._

 _Zelda twisted her hands into the skirt of her nightgown, too scared to risk peeking her head around the corner. No matter how much she wanted to see who it was, she was too afraid of who this stranger was that Impa seemed to dislike so much. But maybe… maybe it wouldn't matter if this was just a guard or her father._

 _Whoever it was… maybe they could at least deliver a message to the king. But as she looked back towards her room, to the just-finished letter she had written her papa, she knew she didn't have the courage to bring it to the front door._

 _After all, the king hadn't answered any of her letters. She sent them every single day without fail, and yet, not once had she gotten a response back. And she trusted Impa to send them, so she knew it couldn't possibly be a mistake from their end._

 _Zelda felt tears spring into her eyes. She quickly scrubbed them away, but the more she tried to get rid of them, the more they clouded her vision. If it weren't for her silencing spell around her, she was sure that Impa would have heard her crying by now. But with her emotions as they were, Zelda wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up the spell._

" _You need to leave," Impa said. "Think good and hard about what your duty is. It isn't your place to interfere with fate. She's in good hands here—better than with your lot." And with that, Impa closed the door in the man's face._

 _Though Zelda still desperately wanted to see the man behind the door, she knew she'd missed her last chance. And that, even more than the hurt she felt from her unanswered letters, was what finally pushed her over the edge._

 _The silencing spell crumbled around her, and soon her cries reached Impa's ears._

" _Oh, dear one," Impa said softly as she approached her, kneeling down next to her. "You didn't hear him, did you?"_

 _Zelda shook her head, wiping away tears with her clumsy hands._

 _Impa gave a sigh of relief, but whatever she felt relief for, Zelda didn't know. "I had feared my voice woke you," she said. Seeing that her soothing voice alone wasn't enough to calm Zelda's cries, she reached forward and stilled the child's hands, skillfully brushing tears from her eyes. "How can I calm you, sweet one? You need your sleep if you're going to train tomorrow…"_

 _The lump in Zelda's throat only got bigger the more she tried to swallow it. "My papa," she managed between gasps for air. "Was that one of his guards trying to see how I was? But—but why hasn't he written me back…? I want—I want him to talk to me."_

 _Impa's brows rose in alarm as Zelda's cries became more desperate._

 _But she didn't answer her._

 _Instead, she gently picked her up and set her on her hip, resting one hand on her back. "Breathe, child," she said. "You'll be alright."_

 _As Zelda slowly learned to breathe again, Impa brought her back to her room and tucked her in. Impa told her a story, same as always, but Zelda was only half listening._

 _Because, as Impa told her of princesses and heroes who saved the world all on their own, all Zelda could think about was Impa not answering her about the letters. She trusted her guardian with all the faith of a child—so she knew Impa would never lie to her. She had taken her in when her papa didn't want her anymore. Impa would never, ever tell her something that wasn't true._

 _But she also knew that Impa didn't want to upset her._

 _So if she hadn't answered her, than that meant her papa really wasn't going to write her back._

 _Long after Impa had kissed her forehead and told her goodnight, Zelda stared at the wall by her bed. Eventually the tears stopped, and the ache in her chest faded._

 _Her heart had been too sensitive for far too long. She'd hoped for too much, and that ache was her punishment—this loneliness was her punishment. Next time, she wouldn't hope for so much._

 _If Impa ever noticed that Zelda had stopped writing her papa letters, she didn't mention it._

* * *

It wasn't until she heard the door open below her that Sheik realized how tense she had become. Her brows were arched downwards with fierce anger, and her hands were locked with a white-knuckled grip on nothing. Slowly, she reminded herself to breathe, and that restored her somewhat, but it took a moment for her to relax her hands and face.

Idly, she wondered if the house she and Impa had shared still held the letters she'd written so long ago.

But Kakariko was gone now, she reminded herself. Vanished, without a trace. Her letters and the entire rest of the house were nowhere to be found because the entire city was gone.

Sheik felt a dull ache in her chest. There was no sense dwelling on it now, though. There was work to be done. And if Ravio and Link were done with their reunion—evident by the creak of the door below her—then it was high time for her and Link to decide where to go next.

"Sheik?"

She watched as Link came out of the building, looking all around but finding no one in sight.

Perhaps earlier it would have made her smile as she dropped down and landed just behind him, but right now, she could feel no joy in it.

"Are you finished?" she asked, lips not far from Link's ear.

The poor boy startled, though, and jumped nearly a foot into the air. She couldn't blame him, of course—there was suddenly voice in his ear when just a moment ago, there had been no one. "Give a guy some _warning_ next time," Link said, but there was no real ire to his tone. He was too happy for that. And why wouldn't he be, Sheik reminded herself. He'd just reunited with someone he loved dearly.

Sheik couldn't ruin this day for him. So she forced her voice to even out. She couldn't bring herself to sound happy or exited, no, but she couldn't let him know how desperately she wished for Kakariko. For Impa. Even for… She squashed that thought down in an instant, not even allowing _his_ title to enter her mind. "Are you ready to return to Telma's?" Sheik asked, unable to make eye contact. "Because if we're going to continue our jobs, we have a lot of work to do."

As she talked, though, Link searched her face. All too late, Sheik supposed that her flat voice and averted eyes were warning signs. "…Sheik," he started. "Did something…?"

"We need to decide what our next move will be," she said, cutting him off. "Whether we decide to go to Ise, or Marr—those are the cities I've heard the most about kidnappings happening. Or if we go looking for cities that have had strange things happening to them, like Oxon—I have a source telling me to look towards Sarin, or Tal. Or…"

"Kakariko," Link said softly. "You can choose to help them first, you know. I wouldn't mind."

Sheik kept her eyes trained to an apartment a block away, still unable to look Link in the eye. "Whatever would help the people who need it most," she said. "We had leads for Ise before anything else. We ought to go there before we even consider the other cities."

"It's past Zora's Domain, Sheik," he said. "It's pretty far from here… Let's consider _everything_ , okay? We have plenty of time to decide today." When she didn't react, he took a step towards her, resting a hand on her upper arm. "I understand if there's a place you're not ready to see yet."

Sheik nodded stiffly, though she felt far too hesitant about her decision. "…We can consider all the options," she said, voice firm though her resolve was anything but. "But I want to be ready to go by morning. If we decide on Ise, we'll need winter gear. If we decide on Marr, we'll need plenty of rations—it's a long journey to the east and we'll be on the road for a while."

"And the other cities?"

"Sarin is on the way to Ise, and Tal isn't far from Marr," she said. "Whichever we decide on, we can hit something else on the way."

Link didn't look wholly happy about her decision, and Sheik knew it was because she was hiding something. But if he could keep his secrets, then she could damn well keep her own. So without asking if he was ready, she turned and started back for Telma's, Link trailing not far behind.

* * *

 **((Again, sorry this is so late, but I had an injury that prevented me from writing for a little while.**

 **But to answer Davey: Thank you for your sweet words! I appreciate your kindness and encouragement, and hopefully this story will continue to live up to your expectations. There won't be anything explicitly sexual in this, though, and as for Sheik/Zelda… I can't give any spoilers. That is a huge plot point, and will greatly determine the ending.**

 **Thank you** _ **all**_ **for your lovely reviews, though, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! Please, if you liked this (and if you didn't!) I would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you so much for sticking with me even though new chapters haven't been as fast recently.))**


	14. Chapter 14

The late morning was hot, and though Sheik knew Link was in a good mood, she couldn't help but feel, if anything, _more_ irritated as she felt the sun on her back. It was as if the sun had become more cheerful right along with her partner, and the two of them were conspiring against her.

Was her rationality really slipping enough that she was comparing her partner to the sun?

But she couldn't be blamed, really; anyone would feel irritable if they'd been arguing for the better part of an hour over what city to go to first.

"We heard about Ise first," Sheik repeated for what must have been the fifth time, leaning over the map she and Link had been poring over for most of the afternoon. "Word about this sort of thing only travels so fast—if we've already heard it, then it must have already been going on for a while."

Link shook his head. "Marr is a _lot_ further away, so word was going to travel slower here regardless. For all we know, it's been going on for even longer. And anyways, no matter who we heard about first, it doesn't mean it's an indicator of which place is being hit the hardest."

"But we still heard about Ise first. When you hear about someone in distress, it's our responsibility to help them first, before anyone else, unless we hear about someone else in a real crisis. We're honor-bound to—"

" _Sheik_ ," Link cut in. "We're not 'honor-bound' to do anything." At her blank confusion, Link clarified. "It's our job to look for the _princess_. Everyone else we're helping of our own free will. We don't have to do it in any specific order—especially since we don't have to be doing this at all."

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, grateful that her mask was on so she wouldn't give away the irrational anger she was feeling. "Right," she forced out. "The king's daughter."

If Link seemed confused that she'd already forgotten her role as a supposed Sheikah bodyguard, then he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he redirected his focus back to the map. "Anyways, Marr is a lot further away. Wouldn't it be better to get it dealt with first before we move elsewhere?"

"It'll be a hell of a lot more expensive," Sheik said. "So we'll have to find a way to replenish our supplies in Marr, or Tal, before we can return to Solen."

"Then it's all the better to go to Marr first. If we go to Ise and Sarin first, then I'm not sure if we'll have enough rupees to even come to Marr." Link paused, looking up at her. "But Castle Town is only a short detour on the road back east. You could always go to Castle Town and try to see the King. I'm sure if you could find a way in, he'd be willing to give you some extra funds to help pay for the rest of the trip through Marr—"

Sheik's heart skipped a beat, and she swore she felt someone rip the air from her lungs. "I'm the only Sheikah I know of that escaped the Castle," Sheik said, forcing her voice to stay steady no matter how panicked she felt. "It would be suicide to try it again."

"That _escaped_ , huh," Link said, half to himself. Sheik felt her pulse quicken, and she prayed he wouldn't ask her anything further. As a gift from the goddesses, though, he didn't question her again. "Well, that's rough. I was hoping somehow you were still getting paid. But I guess if I'm not getting paid because the castle can't send messengers, you wouldn't be getting paid, either." He hummed. "Marr will be the most expensive, though, and we'll have to buy a lot of provisions for it no matter what. I say we do what we can while we still have the money to do it."

As much sense as Link was making, Sheik still felt guilty for not going to Ise first. They needed help, and she had known about them first. It wasn't fair that they were leaving them to their own devices.

But if they wanted to go to both of them, then Link was right. They'd have to go to Marr while they still had the budget for it, because Ise wouldn't require near as many provisions.

Not to mention, both Marr and Tal were quite wealthy cities. If she nicked a few treasures while she was there, they could probably fund heading back to Solen, _and_ the entire return trip to Ise. She'd have to slip away from Link to steal the goods, and slip away in Solen to exchange them, but if it meant saving even one more girl from whatever goddess-forsaken life awaited her after being kidnapped, then it was worth it.

"Marr it is," Sheik finally said. "But if we want to leave tomorrow morning, then we need to get all the preparations done tonight."

Link nodded, already starting to roll up the map and put it in its proper place. "I can get some food that won't spoil from Telma, but she can only spare so much. We'll have to get some more red potion, too… Though, for how much I've used, a shield might be a better option…"

"You have a sword but not a shield?" Sheik raised a brow. " _I'll_ buy your shield if I have to. All the red potion in the world won't help you if you get skewered."

"Well, it might help a _little_ ," Link said, a sheepish smile on his face. "But I'll find one somewhere, don't worry."

"Just get one before tomorrow morning. I'm going to double check what we already have—rope, and blankets and the like," she said. "No sense buying more of what we have."

Link nodded, waving her away. "Have fun in the market. I'll stay here and see what provisions we can get for free before I head out to the city square. Will you be back late?"

"Depends on how quickly I can find what we need." With that, Sheik headed out of their shared room, grabbing her wallet on the way. It only struck her as she passed the doorway, though, just how more at ease Link seemed about her going on her own.

She supposed it had everything to do with Ecchar being Ecchar This was Solen, after all; there was no reason in the world why she wouldn't be able to head out on her own, so she didn't dwell on it.

Sheik couldn't help but think it was nice, having someone that trusted her to come back.

* * *

Most of their non-essentials had been left with Epona, so Sheik ended up in the stables on the outskirts of town, searching through the stalls till she found the mare, and the supplies carelessly left beside her.

In the saddle-bags, there were five blankets, four water-skins, two empty bottles, four full bottles (of potion and food and things that had been sitting in the sun so long that Sheik wasn't sure was _either_ ), eighteen feet of rope, two sleeping mats, Sheik's own sparse winter gear, Link's even _sparser_ winter gear, clean underclothes, soap, a half-empty bag of oats for Epona (which Sheik guessed Link was saving for the less grassy areas they traveled over), and a nearly empty bag meant to contain all of their food.

As she took in just how much Epona had been carrying, Sheik wished now more than ever that she still had her own horse. Epona was a strong mare, but to have already carried two people, all of the supplies she had now, and more when their rations were still full? She patted Epona's neck, murmuring an apology into her velvety ears.

"We'll see if we can't find another horse once we can afford one," she said. "But until then, you'll have to just do your best. There's an awful lot of supplies we'll have to bring with us on our way to Marr."

Though Sheik knew Epona couldn't understand her, her eyes were soft and gentle and almost understanding. Had it been a person giving her that look, Sheik would have been offended. But because it was Epona—and because no one was around—that expression earned the horse another gentle pat on the neck.

"I'll see if I can't find some apples for you," she whispered. When Epona's eyes brightened—and Sheik supposed she might really have understood the word 'apples'—Sheik hid a smile. "Don't mention it."

As she left Epona and the supplies in the stall, she ran through a list in her head of what they could afford to leave behind—winter gear and some of the extra blankets—and what they definitely needed more of—food, obviously, and extra clothes, and more soap and oats and rope.

Sheik closed her eyes, wondering how she would possibly be able to pay for the supplies they needed and another horse. They really would have to just cope with Epona for now.

Maybe she could even steal a horse. So long as it wasn't from a poor person, she had no qualms about it. There were plenty of criminals on Hyrule Field, too, and she certainly had no problem taking a horse from them. It would be worth the hassle (and the guilt) if it meant saving people faster. Not to mention it would finally end the awkward way she and Link had to hold onto each other, depending on who was leading. Yes, the sooner they could be done with _that_ , the happier she'd be.

As she walked to the marketplace, though, she saw Link not far ahead of her, purchasing food at the market.

She supposed he must have already finished sorting things with Telma; it had been quite a long walk to and from the stables on the outskirts of town.

And yet, as she trailed some distance behind him, looking for a supplier for what they needed, she couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of her eye. With the sweet way he addressed the people in the marketplace, and the friendly smiles he sent to everyone he passed, it was hard to believe that he had ever stolen, like Ravio had said. Just seeing how he interacted with people, it was hard to believe that this boy had _ever_ been involved with the wrong crowd. He seemed too kind for it—too sensitive to others.

But all the same, Sheik knew better.

And, as a young boy stole an apple from a stand and was called out for it ("Stop, theif!") Sheik watched as Link startled and whipped around.

There was panic on his face only for a moment before he calmed down. Sheik supposed it was similar to how she reacted when she heard the name 'Zelda' said in public.

Curious, now, as to how Link would react, Sheik watched him, and how he stared down the thief.

The boy was running in Link's direction, too. Sheik watched with baited breath, wondering how on earth her partner would react if this boy came much closer.

As soon as the thief came close enough, Link stopped him in a flash, taking hold of the boy's wrist and taking the apple from his hand.

The sight shocked her so much that she nearly couldn't help her expression. Sheik wondered, shock and anger filling her, what in Hyrule he thought he was doing. After all, this was the same boy who was so set on helping people, yet here he was, handing a boy over because he tried to steal an apple?

But just as he led the boy back to the cart he'd stolen from, Link pulled out several rupees—enough to pay for that apple, and two more. He then handed the boy all three he'd bought, leaned down to whisper something in his ear, and sent the boy on his way.

It took a moment for Sheik to truly understand what he'd done. But once she had, heat rose to her cheeks. More worrisome, though, was the pace at which her heart was beating, and the lump rising in her throat.

Sheik couldn't understand why she felt so strange as she watched him.

But wary of being seen (for reasons she couldn't understand), Sheik ducked into a cross-street, hiding behind the corner of the building so that she was just out of Link's line of sight. They were in public, of course, and there was nothing _wrong_ with what she'd just seen, but…

Somehow, it felt as though she'd been witness to something incredibly private.

Her racing heart slowed after a moment, but the heat in her cheeks remained. Though her mask at least hid the redness on her face, it did nothing for the excess heat, and she found herself uncomfortably warm despite the cool breeze blowing through the market.

As much as she wanted to finish collecting supplies, Sheik was incredibly tempted to just stay put. Not being seen by Link would be _wonderful_ —especially since she was sure seeing him would just make her heart pick back up and worsen the heat under her skin.

But, no matter what she wanted, she had a job to do.

And Sheik, though she had hidden for most of her adolescent years, was not a coward. So she took a deep breath and steadied herself, attempting to think of anything other than Link and the scene that had just transpired.

The only thoughts about apples she would allow were the ones she was going to pick up for Epona.

That in mind, she started across the street and quickly accosted her partner, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. "How has your search gone?" she asked, looking more at his satchel of supplies than at his face. How could she look at him, really, when he still had such a contented smile on his face?

If Link found her aversion of eyes strange, he didn't say a word. Instead he just turned towards her, smile brightening as he looked her over. "I wasn't expecting to see you till later! I already got Telma's approval to take a look through her pantry and take anything that had a spare, but there's a lot she didn't have spares of, so I made a list and I'm looking for sales around here…"

With that sweet smile and the tone that came with it, Sheik wouldn't stand a chance. So she cleared her throat and attempted to sound more serious—more devoted to business. "We need to have enough for the return trip, too," Sheik said. "And enough extra to last us in case we get delayed a day."

Confusion met her, and Link's smile looked, for a moment, a bit forced. "Why would we get delayed a day?"

"Just in case. Sometimes unexpected things happen, and we have to prepare for them." Sheik forced down the memory of Link, badly burned from the fire monster of Oxon. If they hadn't found red potion… "I'd rather not push our luck, that's all. And another day's rations means that we could stretch out our rations if something happens."

"Well, it is almost a week and a half's trip, with Epona burdened as much as she is…" Link bit the inside of his cheek, brows furrowing in indecision. "But we still don't know how hot it'll be, or how many days Epona can keep up a good pace…"

"With as long as it'll take, it might be better for two days' extra. It might take her longer than we anticipate, considering how many consecutive days we'll be riding her." Sheik frowned. "We might have to walk, some, to give her a break."

"We'll definitely have to get some extra oats for her, too. Marr is hot this time of year, and with all the weird cities around Hyrule, there's no guarantee she'll be able to eat grass at Tal…"

Sheik nodded. "Two days' extra should be enough to cover the difference, just in case. I'll cover the difference if need be."

"No, no, I," Link started, smile faltering just a moment. "I, um, would prefer it if we had enough. I hadn't realized that we might get delayed."

Though Sheik could see some worry in Link's eyes, and she _knew_ that falter in Link's smile hadn't been a trick of the light, it wasn't any of her business. So she looked away again, willfully blinding herself to any other slip-ups that might disrupt his smile.

"Well," she said, trying not to feel guilty. "I—If there's nothing you need me to help you with, then I ought to get started on collecting my own part of the list."

"Yeah." Link glanced up at her, as if trying to get a better look at her face. They stood in silence a moment, neither of them willing to move, before finally Link spoke again. "Well," he said, glancing cross the market and starting to move towards it. "I guess I'll just—I'll see you at Telma's tonight."

Sheik watched him as he went. "Right."

And, though she soon turned and went about her own business, she couldn't help but to look over at him from time to time. His interactions were as friendly as ever, naturally; Sheik was coming to expect it from him. The vendors seemed to enjoy his company even more than his money, and the ordinary people milling about the city square hardly seemed better. Everyone he passed smiled at him, or asked him how he was doing, or wished him a good day. It was foreign to Sheik, but fascinating, and she couldn't help but listen in even when she wasn't watching.

Some of them, though, seemed a bit too interested. Particularly the young women—as well as a few young men—that she caught staring. They looked embarrassed if they saw that she'd noticed, but not so embarrassed that they wouldn't look away.

It as frustrating as it was fascinating. Almost everyone seemed to like him, and even the ones that didn't seem to know him were friendly.

But of _course_ they were, Sheik thought. By Hylian standards, Link was good-looking, if a bit short and stocky. His face was symmetrical (even if he had rather round cheeks), and his freckles were nice (she supposed), and it was obvious just by looking at him that he was strong (and Hylians were interested in that sort of thing, weren't they?). Why _wouldn't_ other people think he was good looking?

It was just an inconvenience, Sheik told herself as she vindictively bagged and paid for a sack of apples for Epona. Because if people noticed he was good-looking, then they would only slow him down as he tried to do his job.

As she packed up rope, and extra clothes, and a few extra water-skins, though, she couldn't ignore the tension in her spine. But it wasn't that she was jealous. Link had spent more time with her than anyone else, and he had been the one to offer a title of 'friend' first. She was quite comfortable with their relationship, and she didn't feel threatened by anyone else.

It was just inconvenient, she thought. Incredibly inconvenient of these people— _who had probably been acquaintances of his for years_ —to brush shoulders and shake hands— _touch him more freely than she ever could_ —with her partner. He had a job to do.

As she watched him laugh and joke with a group of boys and girls around his age, Sheik turned her warm face away. Inconvenient as the people were, she decided, they weren't wholly to blame. It was in Link's nature to be friendly, and to be sweet, and to be every bit as heroic as the legends of old.

Sheik grit her teeth.

Damn the goddesses for allowing this boy to be _cute_ as well as kind.

* * *

Telma's was quiet that evening, and if anyone noticed Sheik drinking alone at the counter, they didn't approach her. How could they, when she so clearly wanted to be left alone? Sheik usually liked to think she wasn't quite as stand-offish as she appeared, but tonight, she was glad that her resting expression put people off. Because right then, the only company she wanted—or so she told herself—was Telma, and that was because Telma didn't mind giving her drinks.

This time Sheik was more than happy to pay—not wanting Ilia to cover it—and Telma, funnily enough, seemed happier to accept her money.

It seemed that the good of saving Ilia was downplayed because she had put Link in danger. But Sheik could hardly blame Telma if she was angry; the way she treated Link, Sheik would have assumed he was her actual son. Anyone would be angry if they found out their child had been put in danger.

But Telma didn't stop her from drinking, and she didn't confront her, either. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Sheik was happy to keep things as they were.

So she drank in silence and listened across the room.

For the first half of the evening, she'd merely drank and stared into nothing, her thoughts far from her as she kept Kakariko on her mind. But as the night wore on, and she drank enough that her thoughts didn't dwell so heavily on sad subjects, she couldn't help but listen to what some of the other tenants were talking about.

One table in particular caught her interest: Link, Ilia, and what must have been Link's friends from Solen. Link didn't do much of the talking, Sheik noticed, but he certainly seemed to be having a good time.

He hadn't gotten a single alcoholic drink—something to do with Telma's mothering, Sheik suspected. But he'd gotten plenty to eat, and he looked happier and more peaceful than she'd seen him in a while—perhaps the most relaxed she'd ever seen him.

It was kind of nice.

For most the evening, they discussed carnivals, and fairs, and what jobs they were hoping to apprentice at. Most of Link's friends wanted to be soldiers, but one wanted to be a chef. Ilia, apparently, wanted to work with horses or other farm animals. But Link… Sheik tried not to feel disappointed when all he said was, "I'm happy with anything, so long as I can pay for whatever I need."

Sheik supposed it wasn't really a surprise, though, all considered.

The friends in Solen clearly missed Link, and made an effort to tell him so a number of times through the conversation. They had every right to want him to stay, of course, and Sheik almost felt bad for pulling him away from his life here. She could tell that Link felt a bit bad, too—though he always got curiously quiet every time they asked him to stay.

She wondered, heart feeling curiously heavy, if he was starting to regret going with her.

No matter his quiet moments, though, he was happy. Rarely did more than a few minutes go by without someone laughing—and usually, Link joined in with them.

It was nice, Sheik decided, hearing him so cheerful.

But, all good things came to an end eventually, and Sheik hid her frown behind her latest sip of ale as she heard their conversation turn to more serious matters.

"So, Link—you still working for the King even though the castle's been sealed off?"

Much as she wished Link could just enjoy this evening, Sheik couldn't help but listen closer.

"Still having trouble finding her, but yeah," he said. "I've, uh, ended up expanding my search a lot, though. There's a lot of weird stuff happening around Hyrule. Maybe she's connected to it, you know?"

"Feels like it'd be pretty convenient if she was," one of the girls said. "I mean, she's just the king's daughter. The only thing directly connected to her would be the kidnappings, right?"

"Yeah, but everyone knows why they're looking for the princess in the first place," one of the boys said. "Something about ancient magic. Goddesses only know why anyone even still believes in the triforces, though. They haven't been seen in generations."

"Did the Hero of Twilight have one?"

"If he did, he never said much about it," the boy said, then looked back up at Link. "But I guess you might be onto something. All magic's the same. If one thing weird is happening, it's probably connected to some of the other weird stuff."

Link was quiet a moment, and he sounded strange when he answered. Sheik listened closely lest she miss Link's soft voice, almost defensive as he answered. "You're wrong about that, not all magic is the same. And the princess might not have the Triforce of Wisdom. It hasn't been seen in a while, just like you said." Before anyone could protest that he was taking his words back, he continued, "But the kidnappings are happening because they're looking for the princess, right? What if—what if the cities have something to do with that? They haven't hurt anyone from what I've seen."

"Oxon was on fire, wasn't it? How can you say no one was hurt?"

"I was at Oxon," Link said. Everyone at the table started speaking at once, but Ilia quieted them, allowing Link to continue. "My—my partner and I, we ended the curse on it. But the city was abandoned. You couldn't get in or out without some kind of magic to protect you. Whatever happened, the people must have been evacuated beforehand."

Sheik sipped her drink. Apparently her partner was more thoughtful than she'd thought. But then, he'd also figured out that the tunnels were where the girls were being kept…

Perhaps she'd underestimated him.

"…Wasn't Sheik at Ardock shortly after it was unfrozen, too?" Ilia asked. "She said it had been abandoned when she found it, too…"

Link nodded. "Whoever's doing this, they're not trying to hurt anyone—I don't think so, anyways. But they're causing an awful lot of trouble."

"What if the _princess_ is the one doing it?" a different boy asked. "I mean, if she does have the Triforce of Wisdom like they say, then surely that's enough magic to—"

"Magic isn't all the same," Link repeated. "If she does have magic from the Triforce, it's from the Goddesses' blessing. Maybe if she had the Triforce of Power, sure, but _Wisdom_?"

"Then what magic is causing it?" one of the girls asked. "I didn't even know there were different types…"

Sheik finished the last of her drink, trying to blink her blurry vision away. If she had much more, she knew she'd just end up sullen and dizzy with too few inhibitions. And for as many secrets as she carried, it wouldn't be wise to risk them just to relax.

But if she wasn't drinking, then there wasn't much excuse for her to continue sitting there and eavesdropping.

With an irritated frown, Sheik paid for her last drink—along with a decent-sized tip, as was her habit—and got up from her seat.

She hadn't expected to actually feel dizzy upon standing, but she supposed it was her own fault. At least she was sturdy enough to walk on her own. Unfortunately, Link's friends were on the way to the staircase, and Sheik couldn't avoid passing by them.

"Wait—Is that her? Is that your partner, Link?" one of the girls whispered. "I've never seen a Sheikah up close before…"

Sheik's ears burned, but she ignored her, pretending that she hadn't heard. Still, no matter how much she'd drank, her hearing was sharp as ever, and it didn't stop her from continuing to hear them on her way to the stairs.

"Yeah, that's Sheik," Link said. "She's, um." He hesitated, and Sheik wondered in vain what he was going to describe her as, because he soon abandoned the effort altogether. He cleared his throat, forcing a yawn. "…Actually, we're heading back out in the morning, so I should probably get to bed soon, too. I don't want to wake her when I come in."

It was the wrong thing to have said. Sheik grimaced as she heard the collective gasps and gossip that followed such a statement. "But she's—" "You're sharing a—?" "I thought you were—"

 _Really, how scandalous, to share a room when they'd defeated monsters together. How bizarre._ Sheik started up the stairs, trying not to roll her eyes where they could still see.

Still, Link's answers followed her up the stairs. "It's not like that! It's just—easier. We can head out together in the morning and we don't have to pack our things separately—"

Sheik closed the door, effectively blocking him out.

It wasn't Link's fault that his friends here in Solen were so ignorant about magic, or about partnerships that didn't include a romantic entanglement. But despite his friends, Sheik couldn't help but be slightly— _slightly_ —impressed by Link's responses.

Especially his thoughts about the cursed cities.

Whoever was casting those curses might have been trying _not_ to hurt anyone. Maybe the people of Ardock and Oxon _weren't_ lucky to escape alive. Maybe that had been the plan all along.

Sheik frowned.

But all that was doing, then, was creating refugees. Wanderers. More people on Hyrule Field, and more people calling other cities home.

And if they kept cursing cities… Then more and more people would be homeless, and flee to other cities until the cities were overcrowded, and there were only a few—maybe even only one—city left for them to go.

Sheik pursed her lips into a frown.

The Sheikah were a stubborn, hardy people, and they had magic on their side.

Perhaps that was why it had vanished altogether. Any Sheikah that remained in Kakariko might have won against the curses, and the monsters that tried to overtake their city.

As proud as she was of her people, it didn't make her feel any better.

Girls were being kidnapped, Hylians were possibly being herded into one city through the destruction of the others, the Royal Army was off doing Goddesses-knew-what in the Desert… and, as far as she knew, only she and Link were fighting back.

They had already done a lot, she knew, but they couldn't do everything themselves.

If Hyrule was going to stand a chance against whoever—or whatever—was behind all of this, then the people needed to start doing more in their own defense.

She could only pray that Ecchar, at least, had had luck.

But before she could think too much on it, the door opened, and Link slipped through it. He closed his eyes and leaned against the door, letting out a relieved sigh as he slid down to rest more comfortably against it.

"I take it," Sheik said, looking him over, "That they were a bit overwhelming?"

Link nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "I love them, and I miss them when I'm away, but… Goddesses. They want me to stay here forever, and I just…"

"You have a job to do," she finished for him, a hint of a smile on her face. It took her a moment to realize she was still without her mask, and she turned her face away. "You… You had some good insight about the cities tonight."

"You could hear us?" His cheeks turned a bit pink, and Sheik had to force away the smirk that rose to her lips. Perhaps he was embarrassed at the last moments she had heard him, as she'd been coming up the stairs. "I didn't… I mean—I wasn't—they were the ones who brought it up."

"It was a good point nonetheless," she said. Though her theory had made perfect sense in her head, because of how much she'd drank, it was a bit difficult to articulate them, and when she opened her mouth again to speak, she found herself at a loss. "The person who—whoever is responsible for cursing those cities… they might not be _trying_ to hurt anyone. They might just be…" She struggled for the words, a slight frown on her face. "Herding Hylians. Like goats."

Link looked her over, his wide blue eyes concerned for a moment. "Herding Hylians like goats," he repeated. "By destroying their homes?"

"Yes," Sheik said. "Getting rid of towns to gather everyone into one or two. So they can," and here, she hesitated, because she wasn't entirely sure why they were doing it. "So they can sort through them easier, maybe. Control them easier."

It took him a moment, but Link seemed to get it. "…Sorting through them easier," he said, frowning in contemplation. "It would make looking for the princess easier, that's for sure. They don't know where she is, so they're destroying everywhere she might be, till there's only a few places for her to go."

Sheik blinked. "That," she said, "That is a good point."

Link looked her over again, the contemplative frown quickly replaced by concern. "You should probably get to sleep," he said. "You won't be very happy riding tomorrow if you have a hangover."

"I haven't had that much," she said. "Just… just a bit. I'll be fine."

Link didn't look convinced. "We can talk more on the road," he said, looking her over and apparently finding her less than satisfactory. "For now, just take a bath and get to bed. We'll both need our sleep if we're gonna make it to Marr in one piece." When she nodded and started to get up, though, he added, "And I promise I won't tell the king about you, uh. Breaking the rules. So don't worry about that."

And Sheik, for all of her careful consideration of her disguise, for all the times she'd held her tongue lest a secret spill out, couldn't stop herself from the bitter words that escaped her. "As _if_ he actually controls me."

But she shut the door and started the water before she could realize what she'd said—and she was already in the water before she even realized it was a mistake.

By the time she realized she'd made such a grave mistake, though, she was already in the bath and more at ease than she'd felt in days. Maybe it was because she was surrounded by Nayru's element, maybe it was because she'd had a bit too much to drink, and—though she'd never admit it—maybe it was because some part of her trusted Link, even if he knew she wasn't a Sheikah. More than likely, it was all three. But Sheik would take her peace where she could get it.

When she got of the water and prepared for bed, the lights were already off, and Link was in bed.

Sheik crept by him, silent as ever, but stopped before she could get to her own bed.

Link's blankets were off of him, and the room was far too cold for him to sleep comfortably without them. Sheik hardly thought about it as she pulled the covers back up over his shoulders.

She knew from his conversation with Telma early that morning that he hadn't been getting very good sleep. The least she could do was make sure he was at least warm enough to get a good night's sleep. It wasn't a big deal, she told herself as she slipped under her own blankets. She was just being a good partner.

And hopefully come morning—whether or not she'd helped him at all—he'd be rested and ready to continue on to Marr.

But if not…

Sheik supposed she could always return the favor he had done her on the way to Ecchar. If he needed to sleep, then she wouldn't deny him. It was the least she could do for this partner who had been so diligent in helping her.

* * *

Morning came far too early, and with a headache to worsen the sunrise.

Sheik regretted drinking last night, to be sure, but there was nothing she could do about it now. So she simply headed downstairs—sneaking past a sleeping, yet tossing-and-turning Link—and bought water and red potion. Neither completely soothed the ache between her temples, but she couldn't deny that she felt a bit better after drinking them.

When she returned upstairs to finish packing, she found that Link was still asleep. Sheik watched him a moment, focusing on the dull grey circles under his eyes.

He probably hadn't been able to sleep much last night, either… And even as she watched him, he continued to toss and turn.

Sheik wondered if it had anything to do with what she'd let slip last night, or if he was remembering Hilda and Ecchar. Either way, she couldn't find it in her to wake him.

So she started packing alone, taking extra care to load the food so that the heavier, more durable foods wouldn't crush the softer ones. It was difficult, though, considering how much there was of it. Sheik could understand packing extras in case they got stranded, but goddesses—they could have probably fed a third person with how much Link had packed.

She nearly opened her mouth to wake him and ask him about it, but in the end, she thought better of it.

She'd lived on the streets long enough to understand the importance of having extras. And with what she knew of Link…

Sheik packed everything without complaint, but stopped short of trekking out to Epona.

As much as she wanted to let Link sleep a while longer, they had people who needed them. So she stood over his bedside and gently shook his shoulder. "We need to head out soon, before it gets late."

Link woke slowly, and Sheik felt guilty when she saw how tired his eyes still looked. But he smiled and sat up nonetheless, quickly dressing and checking around the room for his things—including his new shield, which he strapped to his back, fingers clumsily fastening the unfamiliar straps. "You, uh, already—?"

"You were sleeping," Sheik explained, sliding on her exterior armor. "Figured you should get whatever sleep you can. It's going to be a long day."

Link looked, if anything, _nervous_ when she said that. "…Yeah," he finally managed. "About—about last night, um…"

"I know what I said," Sheik said, forcing an unconcerned tone into her voice. "If you want to back out, now's the time, before we set out together. I'd rather not get stranded in the middle of nowhere if you change your mind later, since Epona is technically your horse. So either tell me now so I can make my own arrangements, or—"

"Sheik," Link cut in. "I'm not going to back out on you. I just want to ask you—"

"If you're not going to back out, then let's get going," Sheik said. She put her mask and scarf on, avoiding eye-contact all the while. "If it's that important to you, we can talk on the road, but we need to get going. Daylight only lasts for so long."

Link sat on the edge of the bed and slid his boots on. "I take it this is why you don't want to go to Hyrule Castle, huh?"

Sheik sent a half-hearted glare his way. "Wait until we're on the road. This isn't a conversation I want others to hear."

 _Especially_ since she wasn't sure how much Link knew.

Sure, by now he had to have figured out that she wasn't a real Sheikah. But did he know that she was the King's Daughter?

Her heart raced at the possibility. But with her mask and scarf on, she could worry less about hiding her expression. Half to calm herself, Sheik took her braid out and started re-braiding it, weaving the strands together till they laid in a heavy block against her back.

Link watched her a moment, but seemed to decide that further conversation could wait. "I'll ask later," he finally said. "But this is something I need to know. Alright?"

Sheik nodded. In her heart of hearts, she was grateful for it, really, even if she'd only postponed the inevitable.

Sooner or later, Link would have confirmation that she wasn't a true Sheikah. She just hoped that it would be later rather than sooner.

The trek to Epona was long, and the bags they carried were heavy with supplies. Sheik didn't envy Epona in the slightest, especially knowing that the mare would have to carry them, too. But there wasn't time enough to buy another horse, and this early in the day, it wasn't as if anyone was selling one.

Sheik still had half a mind to steal one, but horses were expensive, and the last thing she wanted was to steal a poor person's means of transportation.

So on Epona she would stay. She slipped Epona one of the apples from yesterday before she could start feeling too guilty about it.

Soon they were fully loaded up, and it was with dread that Sheik set out, taking the reins while Link sat behind her.

The further out they traveled, the more likely Link was to ask. They could only postpone that conversation so long, Sheik knew, and she had half a mind to bring it up herself. But fear kept her from asking, so they rode together in silence for at least an hour, though to Sheik's racing heart, it felt much longer. It wasn't till the midmorning sun beat down on them that Link finally opened his mouth, and Sheik tensed even as the first word left his mouth.

"So," he started. "You don't actually serve the King."

Sheik took a breath to calm herself. It did little to steady her racing heartrate. "Correct."

"Mind telling me who you do serve, then?"

"I am in no one's direct service," Sheik said. "I'm a nomad. You figured that part out a while ago, though, didn't you?" Her mind still echoed his 'I lived on the streets, too!' any time she got too comfortable around him.

Link hummed in affirmation. "It was kind of hard not to. You don't trust anyone."

"You do, and you lived on the streets," Sheik said. Her grip on the reins was tight, and she felt as if she could barely breathe. But she kept her voice strong and steady nonetheless. "Explain."

"Telma could make anyone trust her, and I've known Ilia since before I can remember," Link said. "I'd hardly call myself an exception."

Sheik pursed her lips. "It's not exactly Sheikah custom to trust outsiders. How could you know that it wasn't a cultural difference?"

"Why does it matter?" Link asked. "Look, I figured it out, you're not in the King's service, you've lived on the streets at least for the last year or so, I'd wager—why does it matter so much to you how I figured it out?"

"Because if you figured out I don't serve the king, what's to stop others from figuring it out?" Sheik turned to face him, eyes steely even if her resolve wasn't. "This cover is the only thing that allows me unrestricted passage, and that passage has allowed me to help people for years. If there is something that gives me away, I need to know."

Link was quiet for a while, as if weighing her words. Finally, though, he sighed. "You have incredible survival skills, and that might be an attribute of the Sheikah, but you fight like someone from the streets. Sheikahs have more finesse, and either fight fairly, or don't hold back at all, depending on their targets."

"And how would you—"

"The King hired me to find his daughter, Sheik," Link said. "He wouldn't trust just anyone with that. I've spent time at the Castle—I know what King's Sheikahs are like, and you're not like any of them. Not to mention you insult the king whenever someone mentions him."

Sheik's face burned.

Link continued, holding nothing back. "You know of Sheikah customs, I'll give you that. The best I can figure is that you were raised Sheikah and left at some point, but still managed to find the costume of a Sheikah warrior. It's a bit out-of-date by now, so I can only guess it came from a relative, unless you found some way to illegally purchase it. And, considering you've been buying from Ravio for the better part of three years, I wouldn't put it past you."

When Link quieted, Sheik released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Is that all?"

"Pretty much. Still can't figure out why you pretended to work for the king when we first met, though."

"You had information about the missing girls and what was going on in Hyrule," Sheik said. "I wanted that information."

"Well, congratulations. You have it." For the first time, a bitter edge was creeping into his voice. Sheik found she couldn't blame him. "Anything else you're lying to me about?"

Sheik pursed her lips. She wanted to say, _Nothing I can tell you without endangering my own safety, thanks_. Or, _Thanks but no thanks, I'll keep my Royal Heritage to myself_. Or even, _I'll tell you my history when you tell me yours, ex-criminal._

But the only thing she could bring herself to say was, "Not about anything that matters."

It was the wrong thing to say.

"And what, exactly, matters enough to tell me the truth, huh?" Link's voice was tense, and Sheik was grateful that she was the one leading Epona, lest he try to stop her and turn them around. "I'm working for the King to find his daughter and protect her, Sheik. This is my job, and while I'm glad we can help those girls, every minute I spend focusing on them is a minute I'm not focusing on what I'm actually supposed to be doing."

"The safest thing for the King's daughter to do right now is hide. Even if you found her, what good would it do anyone?" When Link started to answer, she cut him off. "Or have you forgotten that Hyrule Castle is closed off to the rest of the world, and that girls around Hyrule are being kidnapped as it is?"

"I thought you said you didn't serve anyone," Link said, voice suspicious.

Sheik grit her teeth. "I don't."

"Really? Because it sounds an awful lot like you've met her, or you're shielding her somehow." When Sheik averted her eyes all too quickly, Link pressed further. "The King sent his daughter to be raised by a nursemaid, Sheik. You know who that nursemaid was?"

"No," Sheik said. "It's not like it's common knowledge. Care to fill me in?"

"A Sheikah. The King sent his daughter to live with a Sheikah nursemaid who raised her till Princess Zelda was ten. And then that nursemaid died, and goddesses only know what happened to the King's daughter then. But you know, Sheik?"

Sheik practically felt her heart stop in her chest.

"You lived in Kakariko. The other night's evidence of that enough—you were devastated when you heard it was gone. So tell me—when were you going to tell me that you knew the princess?" When Sheik fell silent, he continued. "You had to have met her, or at least known of her if you lived in Kakariko around the same time. Did you know where she ran off to? How she kept herself hidden?"

"I didn't—"

"I need to know, Sheik. Be honest with me," he said, voice pleading. "If she's out there—if you have any idea if she's even still alive, I need to know."

Sheik took a deep breath. Her heart might never beat at the same speed again, she was sure, but for right now, she needed to tell him anything that would get him off her case. So she steeled her heart against the guilt that was caging it, and told, perhaps, the most dangerous lie she'd told in years.

"She was a few years younger than me, so we weren't extremely close," Sheik said slowly, closing her eyes as she tried to find the perfect words to sell her story. "I was being trained by her nursemaid, though—she was a Sheikah woman named Impa."

"You were trained by…?"

"I lost my parents at a young age, so Impa was almost like a mother to me. It devastated me when she died. So, my sincerest apologies if I was focused more on Impa's passing than what happened to Zelda." Sheik grit her teeth once more, agitation setting in the longer she had to answer him. "When she left, I had no idea where she was going. If I had known, I would have gone with her, I swear. But I was only a young teenager when she went missing. I wish I had paid more attention to her, but I didn't realize she was gone till it was too late. I looked for her, too, but I didn't have any more luck than the others who tried to find her after she left."

"So you have no idea if—?"

"I bet you anything that she's still alive somewhere," Sheik said. "But I don't know where. She was a smart one, even when she was young—I'll grant her that. Not a magical drop in her body, but she was smart."

Link was quiet for a while. It seemed to Sheik that, finally, he was done interrogating her. But after a few minutes had passed, he asked something that Sheik didn't expect.

"Is that…" he started, voice unexpectedly soft. "Is that why you're so determined to help those girls? Because one of them might be Zelda?"

"Every girl deserves to be saved," Sheik started. But if she wanted to sell this story, then, yes—she would have to subvert even her greatest goal. Guilt gnawed at her stomach as every word passed her lips. "But… yes. I want to find her, Link. She could be anyone, anywhere, and she would want all of these girls to be set free." Not wanting to sound as if she was speaking for Zelda herself, she added, "That was just the kind of person she was. She even didn't have the heart to keep a pet, she was so scared of making the animal feel like it was trapped." Her cheeks warmed even remembering such a thing; goddesses, had she really been that innocent? "On the chance that she _isn't_ alive, though, the least I can do is honor her memory. Whether I find her or not, I'm saving all of these girls. Don't ask me to abandon them."

Sheik waited with bated breath for Link to either accept or reject her story.

But it didn't take long for him to answer her, and when he did, it was with a gentle tone, and a hand on her arm. "We'll find her," he promised. "Whatever it takes. If she's as smart as you said, I'm sure she's out there somewhere. And we'll find everyone else while we're at it. I promise."

Sheik felt the guilt wrap around her heart even as she rested her hand on top of Link's. She didn't deserve such a show of support—not when she knew the truth. But she could use the lump in her throat to further sell her story, so she managed a small, strained, "Thank you."

She prayed to all three Goddesses that Link would never find out the truth. The guilt alone might kill her before he ever found out, but… goddesses. She prayed he would never know the lie she had just told him.

Time would only tell if that prayer came true, though, and Sheik had neither the time nor the patience to dwell on it.

She had a job to do, after all. She and Link both did.

* * *

 **((A very Shink chapter—and I sure hope you all liked it! It took me forever to write, and this ended up being the longest chapter we've ever had, so, uh, cheers to that?**

 **Here are a few answers to questions in reviews! If I don't answer yours here, you probably have an account, so I probably answered it in a PM, or am about to answer it in a PM shortly after this gets published.**

 **To 100: The city name are very, very loosely structured. Some of them are purely created for how they sound (like Ecchar—pronounced Ek-khar—which sounds guttural and kind of reminds me of something grimy and dirty). Other ones, though, reference characters from games (Sarin – Saria), or are created because of their location (Ise – located in an icy area). As for if they're based on any real cities… Some of them are, in their own way. Ecchar reminds me of a Great Depression 'Hooverville' mixed with modern-day Chicago. Solen is something like a moderate sized wealthy city, well-maintained and polished. Castle Town in this will be pristine in the center, but increasingly impoverished towards the outskirts. Mostly, I just think about what I need them to serve for the purpose of the story, and their design comes from there.**

 **To Davey: Link will definitely learn to use a shield now that he has one! When he was working for Hilda, he was definitely being trained to attack rather than defend himself, so he'll have to unlearn a lot, and then relearn quite a bit about how to fight while actively trying not to die. But he'll have Sheik's help with that as they train together on the road. It'll take him a while, though…**

 **As always, thank you all for your reviews! I never get tired of reading them. Thank you so much for your continued support, and—as always, if you liked this chapter—and even if you didn't!—please review! It means so much to me that you're following along so diligently! I didn't expect that so many of you would like this story as much as you do, so I hope that this chapter, and the rest, don't disappoint!))**


	15. Chapter 15

_Sheik's dreams were dark, and quiet. Though she couldn't see the world around her, she knew that the area she was standing on was solid, if too small to move from. But she also knew that if she tried to move, she would be unable._

 _She was frozen there, on that small platform, trapped in the darkness._

 _Had she just been being trapped, she almost could have coped. But the voice she heard, loud and clear in the darkness around her, was infinitely worse than just being trapped._

 _Impa's voice rang out around her, but it wasn't like it had been. The softness was gone from her voice, leaving only a stern tone and anger. "You lied," she said. "You lied to him, Zelda."_

" _I had to protect myself," Sheik said, voice small and scared and so unlike the voice she spoke with as an adult. "You know they can't find me! I can't let him know the truth!"_

" _Then you should have hid it from him better so he wouldn't ask," Impa said. "You lied to him, and worse, you disowned your own identity by saying it was separate from yourself!"_

" _But I'm not Zelda!" Sheik said. "I'm not! This is who I am now—I'm Sheik! I'm not Zelda anymore!"_

" _Not Zelda?" Impa shouted, and Sheik felt the platform she was standing on quiver below her. And suddenly, it snapped, and she felt herself falling, falling, with Impa's voice chasing her down all the way._

" _My dear girl," Impa said, voice fading the further Sheik fell, "If you're not Zelda, then who are you?"_

* * *

Sheik woke in a cold sweat.

The night air was chilly, and between it and the dampness on her skin, Sheik's blankets didn't stand a chance of keeping her warm.

Still, as she sat up and looked around her, reassuring herself that, _yes_ , this was the world she lived in, not the dark, lonesome one she'd just woken from, Sheik couldn't feel at ease.

Though she tried to tell herself it was because she and Link were camped on Hyrule Field—one of the most dangerous places in all of Hyrule—she knew it was deeper than that. The guilt from lying to Link had kept her awake for hours earlier that night, and even when she'd fallen asleep, it seemed she couldn't be at peace.

Knowing that she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, Sheik sighed and resigned herself to restlessness.

There was a river nearby, she remembered—and though it was cold, Sheik had often been acquainted with cold baths. If anything, it was all the better tonight; the cold could distract her from her disturbing dreams.

She prayed that it was nothing more than a meaningless nightmare brought on by stress and a change in circumstance. But, whether it was a meaningless nightmare or not, it didn't change the question that still echoed in her mind.

 _If you're not Zelda, then who are you?_

She was _Sheik_ , of course—she felt it more deeply than the blood in her veins and the breath in her lungs. And yet, when confronted with it, her stomach twisted in an ache she hadn't felt in years. Who was she, if she wasn't Zelda?

Who was she if she denied her title and lived life running from fate?

Who was she if she was the king's daughter yet didn't possess the Triforce of Wisdom?

Who was she if she lied to Link about her entire childhood?

Sheik splashed her face with the cold water, silencing the interrogation before it could make her search for answers. No matter how much she might have liked to find the answers to those questions, it wasn't an option. Not just because she didn't have the time—and she didn't, regardless; her job was too important to waste energy on something so meaningless—but because she didn't want to hear the answers.

She was _Sheik_ , not Zelda.

Perhaps she had been Zelda, at one point. In her childhood, she had responded to the name without hesitation—she was proud of her heritage, of her namesake, of the kingdom she (mistakenly) thought one day she would rule.

But that child was gone.

So after Sheik was finished with her impromptu soak, she came out of the water and dried herself, forcing the meaningless questions from her mind.

No nightmares in all of Hyrule could keep her down, she vowed as she started back to camp. But, as she contemplated lying back down on her sleeping mat, she hesitated.

Even if nightmares wouldn't keep her down… Sheik found no shame in staying up.

If it would only result in waking in another cold sweat, and more distracting questions invading her mind, then she would stay awake for tonight and the next night. So long as she didn't have to deal with the consequences of the nightmares—and, admittedly, the nightmares themselves—then she was happy to do whatever it took to keep them at bay.

Caught up in her own thinking, Sheik was slow to notice the anomaly at camp.

All their things were right where she left them, of course, and her tossed-aside blankets were just as rumpled as they'd been when she left. But there was something strange about Link's sleeping mat.

Sheik realized all too late that Link, too, was awake at this hour. And not just awake—awake and about.

Panic set into her chest as she realized she couldn't see him anywhere on their campsite. It was dark, and the campfire provided little light to their campsite, but Sheik had long since trained herself to see in the dark. And Link, she realized as she looked not only around the campsite, but for silhouettes beyond, wasn't even in the hills beyond.

She was certain that he'd still been there when she left, and she had only been gone for an hour at most. Though it didn't feel very long—especially considering her heart still beat too quickly because of the intensity of her dream—it was certainly long enough for Link to have slipped away.

Logically, Sheik knew he would return. He had, after all, left all of his things here. But to slip off in the dead of night without a word? It was hypocritical of Sheik, she knew, but she couldn't help but worry when he disappeared so late.

Sheik frowned, unsure whether or not to search for him. Epona was still here, so he couldn't have gone far. And he likely hadn't set off for the river like she had—otherwise she was sure she would have passed him when she returned, or at least heard him nearby while she was there. That left the small, wooded area just to the south, and the wide open fields to either side…

 _The forest._

Somehow, the words didn't feel like her own. But she trusted the advice more than her own guesses, and if she was wrong, there wasn't much she would lose, anyways. Link would return eventually. Sheik just wanted to…

Sheik frowned.

She wasn't sure what, exactly, she wanted out of this. Though she had no strange, otherworldly instinct telling her why she needed to find him, she knew that she didn't want to leave him alone tonight.

So she set off to the forest before her thoughts could weigh her down.

* * *

It took only a quarter of an hour to find him. Sheik kept her footsteps quiet, searching through the forest following instinct just as much as her knowledge of tracking. It seemed Link hadn't gone too far into the forest anyways; when she spotted him, Sheik could still see the sky if she looked up through the canopy of trees.

It seemed the sky was _why_ Link had chosen this area, too, because when Sheik looked up at his figure, high up in a tree, his eyes were fixed on the night sky. He had a better view of it than Sheik. How could he not when he was half up a tall tree, perched on a sturdy branch that let him see over the rest of the forest.

Despite his view, and though Sheik was too far away to see his expression, his figure made for a rather lonely silhouette.

Sheik couldn't just leave him here.

So against her better judgment, she started for his tree and quietly climbed up to meet him. After all, she didn't want to disturb him. With the way he was so transfixed on the night sky, Sheik wasn't sure he'd be happy if anything disrupted him, let alone her.

As she climbed closer, Sheik could see Link's face clearer and clearer, till finally she could make out his expression.

Whatever he'd come up here for, it wasn't good.

That sad expression didn't belong on such a sweet face. If he'd looked lonely when she was further away, he looked _awful_ now—alone and wistful, staring up at the sky like it was the only thing that could understand him.

Sheik slowly climbed onto a branch nearly level with him, but perpendicular, so she could see him easier.

It seemed that, with the ambience of the forest and the wind rustling the leaves, Link hadn't heard her approach. He didn't look her way, didn't say a word of greeting. He didn't seem aware of her at all. His eyes were fixed on the horizon, on the stars, on the moon; he looked half in a trance.

Whatever he was out here for, Sheik decided she didn't want to let it continue. Or, at least, she didn't want Link to dwell on it, whatever it was that had prompted this lonely escapade.

So she leaned closer and raised her voice just enough that he could hear her. "Hey."

Link startled so much that he nearly fell off his perch.

Sheik winced as she realized just how far of a drop it was—but Link recovered before he could fall, gripping tightly to the tree's trunk. " _Farore_ , Sheik," Link swore, breathing quickly and shallowly. "What did you do that for?"

"I didn't think you'd startle that much."

Link sent a weak glare her way. Sheik supposed she deserved it, even if she hadn't meant to scare him. More than anything, though, she was grateful he was distracted. She'd rather see him irritated with her than so lost and alone.

They sat in silence, Link's eyes eventually trailing back towards the skyline. He looked more peaceful than sad this time, which Sheik supposed was a good thing. But he still looked somewhat off.

"What brings you out here, anyways?" Sheik asked, praying she didn't sound like she was interrogating him. "It's late. You ought to be sleeping."

"So should you," he said. "You were gone when I woke, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I slipped away for a bit, too."

Sheik frowned. "You shouldn't have gone out alone. It's dangerous out on Hyrule Field—"

"Like you're one to talk." Link managed a lopsided smile, and Sheik couldn't help but wonder how genuine it was. "You alright though?" he asked. "You don't usually leave at night like that."

"I needed to clear my head," she said, unwilling to acknowledge her nightmare aloud. "And how would you know if I usually leave at night or not?"

Link's silence was answer enough.

Sheik looked closer at Link's face, getting a good look at the circles around his eyes. She knew his sleep had been restless—she'd heard him toss and turn often enough for that. But she hadn't realized it was so serious, or gone on long enough to show so obviously on his face.

"We ought to go back to camp," Sheik said. "Epona's tough, and we're in the middle of nowhere, but I can't guarantee that no one would try to steal her."

Link nodded, but as Sheik started immediately down the tree, Link lingered. When Sheik looked up, she found him still staring at the sky—almost as lost and lonely as when she'd first found him. It twisted something in her stomach, but she didn't know how to ask him about it. So she simply stood under him, waiting for Link to take the hint and get a move on.

Perhaps another night she'd have the strength and courage to ask him. Till then, this was her role: to stand near him, frozen, and pray that he would take the hint and follow.

* * *

The walk back to their campsite was short, and silent, and Sheik was forever finding herself ahead of Link. Had it been just due to his shorter legs, Sheik wouldn't have minded. But Link seemed lost in himself, staring into the horizon with wanderlust in his eyes. Sheik looked back on him often, half afraid he'd wander away like a stray cat if she didn't keep an eye on him.

Even when they arrived at camp, he still didn't return to his normal.

Sheik watched as he pulled off his cloak and boots and sat down on his sleeping mat. Link made no move to get under them—much like Sheik herself.

"You ought to rest," Sheik said, ignoring the hypocrisy of the statement. "You look exhausted."

Link barely raised his head in acknowledgement. But he must have taken her words to heart, because he finally laid down and pulled his blankets up. Sheik might have been glad, if not for his wide-open eyes. Save for lying down, he didn't seem to be trying at all to sleep.

"Link. Resting involves _sleep_ ," she said, agitation coloring her words. "Just… just close your eyes already and get to bed, alright?"

"You really aren't one to talk," Link muttered. Before Sheik could open her mouth to argue, he cut her off. "You're not going back to sleep yet either. And don't act like you just happened to get up in the middle of the night for nothing, Sheik. I heard you," he said. "You were having a nightmare, so you got up and—and did whatever it was that helped you calm down. I just—if you're not going back to sleep, the least you can do is let me do the same. I have my own reasons, alright?"

"Don't compare us," Sheik said. "If I don't sleep for one night, it's hardly cause for concern. But Link—you look like you've hardly gotten _any_ sleep the last several days—"

"I have my own reasons," Link repeated. He tried to sound firm, and yet Sheik could hear the exhaustion in his voice. Fighting was just wearing him out more, she realized. "Just… please, Sheik. I don't want to deal with this tonight."

Sheik was quiet for a while. But the spark of an idea had flashed in her mind, and there was no ignoring it now.

Even a verbal fight was wearing him out—she could see the weariness on his face already. And if he was tired of even a war of words, perhaps if they sparred, he'd be so worn out that he'd sleep for the rest of the night.

It was worth a shot, Sheik decided.

So she removed her outerwear till she was dressed for a fair fight. A fistfight, that was—sparring with their weapons while they were both sleep-deprived was bound to lead to an injury.

"What are you doing?" Link finally asked, sitting up and watching her, tired eyes squinting in the dark. "It's cold out."

"If neither of us will sleep, then we might as well do something practical," Sheik said. "Spar with me."

"Sheik…" Link rubbed at his eyes. "I don't have the energy to—"

"Then this will be good practice if you're in a situation where you don't have the energy to fight." Without any warning, she pulled him upright. "We haven't gotten the chance to spar the last few nights anyways."

Link's mouth pulled into a frown, but when she started walking outside their campsite, he followed. Whether or not he really _wanted_ to spar, it seemed he was willing. When Sheik faced him and took up a defensive pose, he matched her stance.

They said nothing as they fought, instead communicating with blows and blocks. Link's movements were slower and a bit clumsier than Sheik was used to, but he put up a good fight. If she wasn't so worried about him, she might have been impressed.

Still, as the fight wore on, it became more and more unbalanced. Link's punches were weaker, and less coordinated than she'd ever seen them. But it was nothing to his slowed reaction time. Sheik knew Link knew how to dodge—but after dodging far too late with every strike she threw his way, finally he stopped even _trying_ to dodge.

When Link ended up on the ground after a light but well-placed strike, Sheik decided it was high time to call off the match.

She knelt to the ground and offered him a hand.

"I think that's enough for tonight," she said, and Link didn't protest. Instead, he grabbed her hand and allowed her to help him up.

As they walked back to the camp site, Link was unsteady on his feet and slow, and Sheik had to resist the urge to support him even for that short distance.

But he got onto his sleeping mat without complaint, burrowing under the blankets. Sheik followed suit, though she knew sleep would still be a long time coming for her.

To her surprise, though, the first noise she heard from Link wasn't a snore, or an indication that he was asleep. Instead, he spoke. "Don't think I don't know what you did," he said, exhaustion clear in his voice. "The sparring, I mean. You did this on purpose."

"Go to sleep, Link," Sheik said, unwilling to either confirm or deny it. "We have a lot of traveling to do in the morning.

And, to her surprise, Link shifted onto his stomach and within minutes, was asleep.

Sheik watched him across the campfire, feeling a strange, unfamiliar calm. There were still circles under his eyes, and his entire body sagged with exhaustion—but he was alright.

Unbidden, thoughts of their first meetings came to mind, along with the memory of him laid out on the ground, side badly burned from the fire monster of Oxon. Sheik grit her teeth and tried to force the thoughts away, but she found she couldn't.

Especially remembering Ravio's story—of how he was the one to drop Link at Telma's, and how it was no surprise that Link didn't remember. His injuries had, after all, been bad enough that Ravio had thought him dead these past three years.

Clearly, Link was no stranger to near-death experiences.

But, as Sheik watched him sleep and prayed it would be a restful night for him, she couldn't help but wonder if her partner had a death wish.

There was no sense in dwelling on it, but all the same, Sheik knew she wouldn't stop worrying about him any time soon.

* * *

"Neither Tal or Marr are really on the way to the other," Sheik said, looking at their map as Link loaded up Epona the next morning. "Which should we go to first?"

"Whichever is closest," Link said, voice more cheerful than usual. "I think Marr is only a half-day's trip from Tal, and we'd reach Tal first with the direction we're leaning towards."

Sheik hummed, rolling up the map and stashing it away in a saddle-bag. "We could always adjust our course now and head towards Marr."

"Yeah, but it'd take longer," Link said. "By the time we get to either of them, Epona could seriously use a break. We could stay at Tal for a night, then set out in the morning."

"Epona gets a break at night anyways," Sheik said. "But Tal is closer, so I suppose it would be better…" The thought of failing at Tal, though, and never even reaching Marr made Sheik's stomach twist. What if they never even got the chance to free the girls trapped there? "…I wonder what happened to Tal," Sheik said, hesitating. "If it's something we can't handle… I couldn't forgive myself if we abandoned the girls of Marr to go fixing cursed cities."

"We'll be fine," Link said, finishing up the last of the packing before stroking Epona's mane. "The goddesses wouldn't give us more than we could handle. We're doing good work for Hyrule."

"The goddess Hylia tasked my race with acting as a servant or a bodyguard to her descendants," Sheik said. "I doubt She's looking out for me while I do extra tasks for Hyrule's benefits rather than to protect one of her own." Double-checking that they were all the way packed, Sheik hopped onto Epona and offered a hand to Link.

Link accepted her hand, but rolled his eyes at her comment. "I forgot, you guys serve _Hylia_."

"And you serve the Three," Sheik countered. "Only Farore even _cares_ about life on Hyrule. The rest couldn't care less about Hylians—or the rest of life in Hyrule, for that matter."

"That's why she's my patron goddess," Link said, as if it was obvious. "Besides, plenty of people serve the smaller gods and goddesses. If you don't think Hylia is looking out for you, then pick a different goddess."

"As if I could throw away my loyalty like that," Sheik said, offended. Even if she had been born Zelda, a Hylian, she couldn't ignore the Sheikah culture she had been brought into. Though she knew much about the Three, she had been taught since she was young to serve Hylia.

…Though, thinking about it now that she was older, it seemed strangely self-serving, considering she was a descendant of Hylia's mortal form, the first Zelda. Sheik tried not to think too much on it.

As she started off towards the still-rising sun, Sheik couldn't get Link's words out of her head. "Is it common for people to simply choose a different goddess?"

"Ilia's gone through about five," Link said, and Sheik could practically hear the grin in his voice. "Telma serves the Gerudo Goddess of the Sand, believe it or not, and most of my friends serve Din."

" _Din_?"

"Hey, she's not that bad," Link said. "It's not like her Triforce of Power is cursed or anything. She's just… misunderstood, and her power has been used for evil a few times, that's all."

"A few times?" Sheik asked, turning her head towards him. "Do you realize how often it's fallen into the wrong hands?"

Link bit the inside of his cheek, seemingly having trouble conveying what he meant. "She might not be my Patron Goddess of Life, but she's a sign of prosperity. Poor people serve her because they're powerless, and pray that she will bless them with enough of their own power to get out of poverty." He shrugged. "I just think it's kind of a shame that Din is only associated with corruption when most of the people who serve her are just down on their luck."

Sheik found herself at a loss for words. She had never considered the possibility—she had merely taken the stories she'd learned as a child at face value. Ganondorf and other villains had always taken the Triforce of Power, and it had always corrupted them. It had never made sense to her for anyone to serve Din.

And yet, she had never realized that there might be more to Din-worshipping than a search for _excessive_ power.

"I've never been close to a Three worshipper before. I didn't realized that there could be anything more to it," she said, voice quiet as she headed onwards. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, you didn't know," Link said, waving it off. "Besides, it's not like you offended _me_. I serve Farore, not Din."

"All the same. It was thoughtless of me." Sheik rode on, lost in the rhythm of Epona's hoof beats and her own thoughts. Finally, though, she brought herself to ask one more question. "…What about Nayru?"

Link sounded, if anything, amused at her question. "What _about_ Nayru?" he asked. "Fewer people worship her than Din."

"Oh," she said. For some reason, she felt a strange sadness at that. "Why is that? She's the goddess of… Law, isn't she?"

"Something like that," Link said. "She's Goddess of Wisdom, and she created the laws of the universe and magic. Out of all of the Three, she's probably the most confusing."

Sheik furrowed her brows. "She doesn't sound all that confusing…"

"She's considered to be the coldest and most distant of all the Three. Most people believe that she judges people for their actions and holds them accountable." Before Sheik could protest that that wasn't confusing, either, he added, "But despite that, the Triforce of Wisdom is seen as something kind and good, and she also offers a power called Nayru's Love."

Sheik stared straight ahead, thoughts spinning. It all came back to the Triforce of Wisdom, didn't it? And yet… "Why is it strange that Nayru's Love is associated with her?"

"She's cold and calculating, and judges people for their worth. You can't really associate someone like that with love, can you?"

It felt, somehow, like a personal attack. Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line. "You can be cold and calculating and still love," she said. "And you said earlier that people assumed that she judged people for their actions and held them responsible. Just because people assume something doesn't make it true."

"Goddesses," Link swore, amusement returning to his voice. "What's got you so worked up?"

"Nothing," Sheik said. "I just—It's unfair."

"Unfair," Link said. "Sure."

Sheik didn't bother chastising him. Instead, she rode ahead, pushing Epona faster. There was no point in arguing with him—especially when he was so…

Well. She couldn't call him closed-minded, knowing his wider view of Din-worshippers. But all the same, he wasn't exactly open-minded about Nayru.

Sheik shook it off to the best of her ability. But something about what Link said bothered her. She wasn't sure if it was being told that cold and calculating people couldn't love, or if it was just general anxiety about hearing of the Triforce of Wisdom. Either way, though, Sheik found she couldn't rest easy, and it was entirely Link's fault.

She'd ignore him all day if she had to. Yet somehow, she didn't think she'd feel any better for it.

* * *

Sheik couldn't ignore the warm weight on her back.

She could ignore the scattered attempts at conversation, the silence, and even the yawns from behind her, but when he finally leaned forward and sagged against her back, she couldn't ignore him any longer.

"I could understand if you wanted to get my attention," Sheik snapped as soon as she felt him against her, "But to—to lean against me when you don't need to—"

Link let out a deep, slow breath instead of answering.

After a beat of silence, Sheik realized that Link had fallen asleep against her. Her skin burned at the touch, embarrassed at this touch that was neither necessary, nor practical. Not to mention she was still irritated with him. The arms around her waist were a necessary evil, and they were bad enough—but for him to be touching her _not only around her waist_ , but on her back as well, where she was the most defenseless… Sheik's face burned with both agitation and embarrassment.

But, even after a good night's sleep last night, Link still had circles around his eyes. It would take several days of proper rest to remove them, and Sheik couldn't wait to be rid of them.

So she didn't disturb him.

Instead, she took a deep breath and slowed Epona to a trot rather than a gallop. She couldn't risk Link falling off.

Irritated with him or not, he was still her partner.

And she owed him this favor from Oxon, didn't she?

* * *

When they had set out from Solen, Sheik hadn't fully realized just how long of a trip it was to Marr. The days passed slowly, and the only variation in their schedule was when they switched who held the reins, and when they sparred at night.

Many nights, Sheik forgot that they had started sparring in addition for her practicing magic. More often than not, they would spar till they were both ready to drop, and Sheik simply wouldn't have the energy, or the memory, to practice her magic.

After over a week on the road, Sheik half wanted to _run_ the rest of the way, if just to get a break from riding.

And, of course, that was when she got her wish, because Epona no longer galloped.

The journey had taken its toll on all of them, it seemed. They needed to lessen the horse's load, and soon. Of course, as they ate the food it had slowly (painfully slowly) lightened the saddle bags, but it had been a long, long week, and Epona was understandably tired.

Walking instead of riding was a welcome change for the first day. But they went through their rations faster now that they were active all day rather than on the back of a horse.

As a result, they were running through their rations much faster than anticipated. Not terribly so—Sheik was sure they would have plenty to get to Tal, at least—but as the days went on, Link was getting more and more concerned.

And, as they continued on, Sheik watched as he started to take out less and less food.

Was he truly that worried about running out?

By the third day of walking—and Goddesses, they were so close to Tal she could almost taste it—Link was taking so little Sheik was concerned for his well-being.

So when breakfast came and Link took nearly nothing, Sheik pulled extra from her own and passed it to him.

"Sheik," Link said, a frown on his face. "You don't have to—"

"Don't," Sheik cut him off. "We'll be arriving to Tal by tomorrow evening, and we have plenty to last us till then."

Link bit the inside of his cheek, fidgeting with his share. "But—if we don't get a chance to restock at Tal…"

"Then we'll decide to ration together, if we're actually in danger of running out on the way to Marr. But Link—if bandits come, what good will you be at fighting them off if you're too tired to swing your sword?" Link was silent, so Sheik took it as encouragement to continue. "Even if there are no markets open at Tal, I'm sure there's food there somewhere. So stop taking so little for yourself, alright? We'll be fine."

Link pressed his lips into a thin line. It seemed he was having trouble accepting what she said—but after hesitating for a long while, he finally started to eat.

As they continued down the road, Sheik kept an eye on her partner. He seemed to be fine, of course—and better than past days, since he'd eaten properly, and he'd been getting decent sleep since they started sparring regularly and spending so much of the day on their feet.

But he looked indecisive—like he was looking to say something.

Sheik braced herself for when he finally opened his mouth to speak, unsure of what, exactly, he might ask her—

But before he could get a single word out, Epona stopped.

After several moments, she didn't budge, not even when Link and Sheik continued on beside her.

Sheik and Link glanced at each other, but neither dared push her forward. Epona had been burdened enough these past few days—it wouldn't be fair to push her on if she was struggling.

"I'll get the bags," Sheik said, already hurriedly untying the heavier saddle-bags. The first one she seized was the one that held oats and water. Link took it from her without a word, letting Epona help herself to it as he gently patted her neck.

"We can't keep pushing her like this," Link said. "It's only another day, but…"

"If she gets an injury from being pushed too hard, we'll need another horse," Sheik finished for him. "The map showed a ranch not far from here… They might have a horse for us to buy. That way we can split the luggage between them, and Epona won't have to carry the both of us again."

Link nodded solemnly, coming his fingers through Epona's mane. "I'm sorry, girl," he said softly. "We've been hard on you, haven't we…?"

Sheik pulled out the map, lips twisting into a frown as she searched for it. "It's half a day's walk north," she said. "We might get there before we even need lunch."

"Think Epona can walk all the way?"

"She'll have to," Sheik said, taking off the rest of the saddle-bags. "I'm sure they'll be able to care for her, then we'll be on our way tomorrow."

Link gave Epona one more gentle pat on the side of her neck before he started loading himself down with the saddle bags. "Guess this is our punishment for making her carry us _and_ these, huh?"

Sheik, fastening most of the heavier ones to her, rolled her eyes. "At least we traveled light. It could've been worse."

Link nodded. He took a tentative step, sighing as he realized just how much more difficult it was to walk with so much weighing him down. "It's gonna be a long trip…"

"Then we'd better get a move on. Come on," Sheik said, grabbing Epona's reins and leading her north.

Goddesses… At least it was still early morning. Perhaps they'd arrive before the heat of the day started to set in.

* * *

It only took two hours before they desperately needed a break. They took it wordlessly, only sharing a glance before Sheik shrugged off her load and Link quickly followed suit.

The sun was rising far too quickly, and it was so warm that Sheik had long since tugged off her mask. But it still wasn't enough—her armor was too thick, and her suit was too dark in the sunlight. Link was faring little better, she knew, with his tunic and boots and long-sleeved undershirt.

He seemed to have the same idea she did, because as soon as he'd cast off his burden, he took off his tunic and undershirt both, tossing them into a saddle-bag.

"You oughta remove your boots if the terrain gets better," Sheik said. She closed her eyes, sighing with relief as she tugged off her outer armor and put away her mask and scarf. Her hair, too warm and heavy on her neck, was too much to bear, so she quickly undid her braid and tied it up in a single, high ponytail.

Though the Gerudo had been missing for ages, she couldn't help but remember them. They knew how to survive the desert, what with their loose pants and short shirts.

It wasn't dark, and Sheik didn't dare ask Link for a set of pants—as if they'd fit her around her waist, anyways—but nothing was stopping her from changing into her sparring gear.

"We ought to change back before we arrive." Sheik helped herself to a canteen of water, pouring some onto her hands and splashing her neck and face with it. "I'd rather not be caught unaware if there's something strange going on at the ranch."

"Strange?" Link asked, taking out his own canteen and nearly emptying it before continuing. "Strange how?"

Sheik snorted. "What have we seen lately that hasn't been strange?"

"Good point." Link wiped his forearm against his brow, grinning. "Hopefully it'll be good strange."

"Good strange," Sheik said. "Right."

Link sat down against his pack, letting out a sigh of relief. He looked like he could fall asleep at any moment, and Sheik sympathized immensely. Her shoulders were already aching from carrying so much, and they weren't even half-way to Lon Lon Ranch. Not to mention it was only going to get hotter from here on—they hadn't even reached midmorning yet…

Sheik closed her eyes and sat down against her own pack. "Goddesses," she swore. "Why are the heroes of legend the only ones that get magical transportation?"

"Just a myth, isn't it?" Sheik cracked one eye open, forearm resting on her brow as she considered him. "I heard certain instruments could warp heroes, if they knew the right notes…"

"Sheikah mythology speaks of that, yes," Sheik said. "But it had something to do with the Triforce, and other magical objects. So unless we find a few of those lying around, we'll be walking."

"So I take it you _don't_ have a Triforce to spare," Link quipped. Part of Sheik tensed at the mention of the Triforce, but the rest of her… The rest of her was just too tired to care. "A damn shame."

"Tell you what, if you with your—with your goddess-damned blonde hair and green tunic—if you end up becoming the Hero of Legend, then you'd better share that magical transportation with me," Sheik said. "If you don't I'll be upset."

Link laughed outright. " _Hero of Legend_ ," he managed, reduced to wheezing as if it was truly absurd. "Oh, Farore…"

Sheik closed her eyes again, not bothering to look closer. "Yeah, well. Stranger heroes have been chosen. Don't sound so sure of it. One always seems to show up when Hyrule is in a crisis… and Hyrule's not looking so good right now."

His laughter still hadn't died when he answered. " _Please_ , Sheik—don't insult the goddesses' taste."

Though the words bothered her, she couldn't help her wry smile. "The goddesses aren't known for having good taste with chosen heroes, really," she said. "They tasked a nine-year-old with saving Hyrule once, according to Impa."

"A nine year old?" Link sat up. "Now this I gotta hear."

"A nine year old," Sheik repeated. "He was from a race of woodland people called the Kokiri. But he was, uh, actually a Hylian, according to the legend."

"But he was only nine," Link said. "Really?"

"Well, according to legend, the goddesses realized their mistake," she said, "And when he tried to pull out the Master Sword, he was frozen in time for seven years till he reemerged as an adult. But by then Hyrule had already fallen to ruin, so everything was just made even more difficult for him."

Link let out a low whistle. "I'd hate to be that kid."

Sheik shrugged, then winced as the motion made her muscles even sorer. She rubbed her shoulder, gritting her teeth as she tried to force out the stiffness already settling into it. "He had help, at least," she managed. "A fairy, and the people he helped along the way. He tended to make friends easily, though I suppose it's only natural to like someone who'd saved you. He had a Sheikah guide, too, who helped quite a bit."

"A Sheikah guide?" Link raised a brow. "Wait, wait, wait—you're telling me a Sheikah helped the Hero instead of the princess?"

"He…" Sheik hesitated. It would be, perhaps, too much of a coincidence to speak of a Sheikah named Sheik who was really Princess Zelda in disguise. "…He was under orders from the Princess. After all, she wanted what was best for Hyrule, so she was prepared to give up even her most loyal guard if it meant saving Hyrule."

Link was quiet for a while, seemingly lost in though. But when he spoke up, there was nothing but admiration in his voice, and Sheik couldn't help but feel some kind of pride as well. The story of the Hero of Time and his Sheikah guide had always been her favorite, and she was happy to share it with someone who appreciate it. "I used to know all about the heroes of old," he said. "But I've never heard this one before. It sounds amazing."

Sheik smiled and shook her head. "It's just a Sheikah legend, as far as I know. Impa was the only one who told it to me, and every time I'd search libraries for more information, I found almost nothing. The Zelda in this tale was hardly mentioned in the history books, and there was never any record of the war in this story, or of any sort of Hero of Time." She shrugged. "But… The story also talks about how Princess Zelda managed to send him back through time so the hero could get his lost childhood back. It's possible that after being sent back, he managed to stop evil's takeover before it ever happened."

The story's end put a strange look on Link's face. It was almost as if he felt truly sorry for the hero—but Sheik couldn't understand why. He had gotten his childhood back in the end, hadn't he? But Link didn't say anything, and soon the strange look faded from his face.

Not wanting to ask about it, Sheik shrugged again—wincing as, yet again, her stiff shoulders twinged in protest. She stretched them out as best she could, but they protested any movement, and eventually, she gave up the effort.

She would need a long, hot bath and several days to recover from today. But the sooner they got to the ranch, the sooner they could fix Epona up, and the sooner they could get to Tal.

So, not wanting to waste even another minute, Sheik stood and offered a hand to Link.

Link didn't look happy about having to get up so soon, but he took hold of her hand anyways and pulled himself up.

As they piled the saddle-bags back onto themselves, neither said a word, instead just setting off as quickly as they could manage while being as weighed down as they were.

* * *

Lon Lon Ranch was a gift from the goddesses.

Even from afar, Sheik was sure that it was the most beautiful thing she'd seen in her life. Perhaps it was the heat addling her brain, but the green acres surrounding it and the huge, beautiful farmhouse perched atop the hill looked like paradise. Sheik wanted nothing more than to run the rest of the way, heavy saddle-bags or not.

Before they got any closer though, Sheik got a hold of herself and made a signal to stop. Hot, dirty, and tired as they were, they at least needed to put on their outerwear before arriving, lest they be turned away as vagabonds.

But just as they finished dressing—no sooner than Sheik had slid on the last of her armor—there was a scream from Lon Lon Ranch.

Sheik stiffened immediately. She glanced to Link, who looked similarly alarmed, before he looked back at their things.

They grabbed and equipped their weapons at once, Sheik's an easier feat than Link's, as she only had knives to grab and tuck into wrappings, whereas he had to put on his sword and shield and bracers.

"Just go," Link said, seeing that Sheik was already finished. "I'll be right behind you."

Sheik only gave him one more glance before taking off at breakneck speed towards Lon Lon Ranch. The pace was difficult after such a hard morning, but there might be lives on the line for all she knew. And if monsters or kidnappers had made it all the way out _here_ , in open terrain, then what chance did the people of Lon Lon Ranch have against them—?

Sheik leapt over a fence, running blind until another scream caught her attention.

It was coming from behind the barn, she realized. Sheik's face paled. Goddesses—she had no way of knowing how many creatures were here, and no way of knowing how strong they were. What if there were too many? What if she was too late already?

She couldn't stop, though—not for one second to catch her breath. Someone might need her, and if she went down, she'd rather go down fighting than allow someone to suffer for her cowardice.

But all too soon, she rounded the corner of the barn and saw her enemy face to face.

Behind it were five of those Hylian lookalike monsters, their magic energy setting off alarms in Sheik's head.

And they were surrounding a girl, no taller than Link, who was only holding a pitch-fork in defense.

Sheik raised her knife to throw it at one of the monster's heads, but before she could even pull her arm back to throw it, the girl lunged forward with her pitchfork, impaling the monster closest to her.

It screamed and evaporated into a column of smoke.

Sheik stared at her, arm frozen in midair.

There were four monsters left now, but while the other monsters were still trying to come at her, she lunged through the opening left by the dead one's smoke. It gave her an opening to run through, but the monsters were quick on her tail.

It took Sheik a moment to shake off her shock, but finally she remembered herself. She threw one dagger and stuck a monster in the back of its head, reducing the number to three.

The girl, confused that a monster she hadn't attacked had evaporated into nothing, was quick to look for the source of the knife.

She met Sheik's eyes with surprise, but didn't say a word. Instead, she nodded at her, then refocused her efforts on driving her pitch fork through one of the monsters' middles, allowing Sheik to handle another one.

And, while Sheik was busy angling her knife to take out a second, Link finally came on the scene, sword brandished for all to see.

Between the three of them, the monsters didn't have a chance, and soon the only ones left behind the barn were Hylians.

"So," the girl said, leaning against the barn to catch her breath. "I take it you didn't send those monsters, considerin' you helped me kill 'em off?"

Sheik glanced at Link. "…Correct."

The girl sighed. "Damn. And here I was hoping to figure out who sent those goddess-damned things."

Link looked around the barn, double-checking that there were no more monsters to be had, then finally sheathed his sword. "Um, sorry—hate to ask, but… _who_ are you?"

"I oughta be askin' you that, considerin' this is my property," she said. "Malon, proud co-owner of Lon Lon Ranch. And who might you be, stranger?"

As she stuck a hand out to Link, Sheik couldn't help but notice the flirtatious smile on her face. Well. It wasn't like Sheik could blame her, really—Link was (admittedly) rather cute, not to mention he'd just helped her rid her property of monsters. What surprised her, though, was the way Link's face pinked as he took her hand and shook it.

"Link, ma'am," he said, letting go of her hand a bit sooner than necessary. Goddesses, was he _embarrassed_ that she was flirting with him?

Malon sent him a coy smile, but soon offered a hand to Sheik as well. "And you, mister Sheikah?"

"Sheik," she said, not bothering to correct her. It wasn't like they'd be staying long enough for it to matter. What surprised her, though, was Malon's strange, knowing grin, and her strong handshake.

It was no wonder that a woman like this made Link blush—she'd taken down several monsters on her own and had the handshake to prove it.

"A pleasure, fellas," Malon said. "Now, I take it you weren't just passin' through?"

"No, uh," Link started. "We—our horse needs help. She's not far from the property, but—we heard the scream, and thought it was a person screaming… And, well, with everything going on in Hyrule…"

"You thought you needed to rescue someone?" Malon sent a sweet smile his way. "How kind. It was helpful gettin' rid of 'em faster, I'll grant you that. But don't expect a discount for it."

Malon's body-language alone was enough to tell Sheik she was flirting with her partner. But though it made her grit her teeth in annoyance the longer it continued, she tried not to let it bother her. "If you'll excuse me," she said, "I'm going to start bringing Epona and our things towards the ranch."

Link, somewhat in a daze as he stared at Malon, didn't seem to realize that the load required either two people, or two trips. "Yeah—um—I'll just be," he started, earning a smile from Malon. Distracted, Link abandoned that train of thought completely, instead just finishing with a halfhearted, "See you soon."

Sheik was grateful that her mask hid her expression. Otherwise she might not have been able to hide her disdain.

Either way, she didn't call Link on his behavior.

So what if he ignored their partnership just because a pretty girl stood in front of him? Link hadn't gotten to see anyone cheerful _,_ or kind, or _pretty_ since they'd left Solen, she tried to tell herself. He couldn't help it.

But if her thoughts became increasingly bitter as she led Epona and carried two loads back to the ranch, well. She couldn't really help that, either, and she certainly wouldn't apologize for it.

* * *

When she returned, Malon was perched atop a fence, listening closely to what Link had to say. Sheik tried not to roll her eyes. She left the saddle-bags at the side of the barn, but she didn't want to abandon Epona so soon, especially on a ranch when there were so many other horses nearby.

Malon caught her eye as she approached and was quick to wave at her. That knowing smile was back, and Sheik couldn't help her puzzlement.

—Honestly, was Sheik seeing things, or did it seem like Malon was flirting with her, too?

She couldn't say she minded, really—especially if it meant Malon wasn't so focused on Link. But all the same, she found it quite strange.

"It would have only taken us another day and a half by horseback," she started without precedent, "But several days ago, she stopped being able to carry us, so we walked. And then she couldn't support our luggage, either, so this morning we altered course to come here instead."

Malon's brows rose dramatically. "She was carrying the both of y'all _and_ your luggage?"

"We packed light," Sheik said. "She managed just fine for almost a week."

It didn't seem to make Malon think any higher of her. "Great goddesses above, it's no wonder your horse stopped supporting you," she accused. "She's probably downright _exhausted_ , the poor thing. She can't go on like this or you'll run her into the ground!"

Link, sensing the conflict in the air, finally managed to snap out of his daze. "What—Wait, but—what are we supposed to do, then? We have to get to Tal!"

"Buy or rent other horses," Malon said. "I can't in good conscience let you keep ridin' her like this. Look at her," she said, concern ebbing into her voice as she gently reached out and stroked Epona's neck. "She needs a good long rest before anyone's ready to ride her again."

Sheik looked at Link, concern in her eyes. He matched it, albeit less so. "…We can decide what to do after Epona's condition has been further assessed," Sheik finally said. "How much would it cost to rent a room or stay on the grounds for the night?"

Malon looked at them shrewdly, all flirtation gone from her face. "Depends," she finally said. "Stay for lunch and tell me what in the goddesses' name a Sheikah and a knight are doing out here together, sharing a single horse and in a great big hurry to Tal."

Sheik tensed, indignation immediately setting fire to her tongue. "It's _none_ of your damn—"

Link elbowed Sheik in the side. "I guess it does look pretty strange," he said. "You don't want us drawing monsters if we're up to something suspicious, right?"

"A girl's gotta protect her farm," Malon said. "But I take it it's a long story, whatever it is. So—lunch is on me, but if you're a threat, there's not a lot more I can do for you, past rent you a horse or two."

Link looked expectedly up at Sheik, who was fighting not to glare too obviously. "…We'll tell you what we can," she said. "But certain things aren't common knowledge, and I would prefer to keep them that way. Understood?"

"Oh, yes," Malon said, an amused smile on her face. "My lips are sealed, Mister Sheikah. Don't you worry about a thing."

While Sheik trusted Malon to keep her word, there was something about that flirtatious, knowing smile that made her worry.

Sheik prayed to Hylia that nothing strange would happen here—

But considering her and Link's track record, she knew it was too much to ask for.

* * *

 **A few of you have complained about how long I take to update. I understand your complaints (because hey, I would love to update faster, too!), but I would like to put things in perspective, if I may. Many fics take weeks and weeks to update, with only a few thousand words, if that. There's** _ **no problem**_ **with that system of updating because fanfiction writers write for free. We are not getting paid for this. Nevertheless, because I enjoy writing, and storytelling is fun (especially for such a wonderful audience, and I really do appreciate all of you!), I try to update quickly. Last chapter, chapter fourteen, took just a little over a week to update, and it was over 9000 words. That's faster, and with more content, than many authors produce at once—not that other authors are doing poorly because again, we write for** _ **free**_ **. So I would very much appreciate if you wouldn't rush me. Now that I'm back at college, I have to maintain almost perfect grades to keep my scholarship, otherwise I will not be allowed to stay at college, because without my scholarship it's too expensive for me. So yes, I try to write frequently, but I also have classes that require a lot of extra time studying. Not to mention I also struggle with anxiety, and if this fic starts to stress me out because some of you are asking for faster updates than I can manage, then I might end up taking even longer—which is part of why this update has taken longer than the others. I'm sorry that I can't write as fast as you would like (and genuinely sorry, at that, because I would love to be able to spend more time writing). But I do have a life to keep track of.**

 **That being said, I appreciate all of you, and I know you only want this to update so quickly because you enjoy the story. Thank you so much for your support, and for your patience. Your motivation keeps me going, and I hope that I won't disappoint you too much—whether it's with the plot, or with the speed at which I update. I treasure each of your reviews, and they help motivate me to keep writing even when things are stressful. So, as always, if you liked this chapter (and even if you didn't!) please, review! I would love to hear what you like or didn't like about this chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

**((This fic now has an official timeline placement, though it will take elements and names from all timelines. This has lore from a lot of games—but on a timeline, it would take place after Twilight Princess—meaning it takes place on the Child Timeline… And, just a reminder—** _ **in this timeline**_ **, the events of Ocarina of Time never happened, though the tale was told to those who were close to Link. Feel free to ask me anything about the lore of this fic; there's a lot of it in this chapter, and it's essential for setting up the events of later chapters. Also: I hope no one actually** _ **wanted**_ **a love triangle with Malon, because that will not be her role, though if you wish to interpret it as such, I left it ambiguous in a few areas.**

 **And, more of this at the end, but I just want to thank you all so much. Those of you that wanted faster updates apologized, and there wasn't a single rude or upsetting comment in any of your reviews. You're all so supportive and kind—I don't know what I did to deserve such sweet readers, but I greatly appreciate you. Thank you so much for your support!))**

* * *

Lunch was served inside the house on top of the hill, fresh and ready after only a few moments' reheating. Though Sheik was relieved to have something decent after so long on the road, her stomach was tied in knots at their sudden halt in progress. Though she knew they couldn't set out till tomorrow anyways, she couldn't help her impatience.

…Impatience among other things, of course. As the three of them sat down at the dining table to eat, Sheik couldn't shake the feeling that she was the only one who didn't want to be there.

Link and Malon seemed to be having the time of their lives, what with Link eating his fill and praising Malon's cooking with every bite. It certainly smelled good, and with Link's constant prompting of, "C'mon, Sheik, try this, it's really good!" she was curious. But no matter how curious or hungry she was, there was no way she was removing her mask near Malon. That knowing smile made her uncomfortable, and after already being addressed several times as 'Mister Sheikah,' Sheik didn't want Malon asking her about any other secrets she might have.

But eventually, to Sheik's relief, Link stopped asking. He and Malon slipped into an easy conversation, and soon he was almost entirely focused on her and the food on his plate. Sheik lost track of how many compliments he paid Malon—mostly for the food, but also for the house itself, and of the surrounding farmland. Sheik couldn't blame him, really. This ranch was a _paradise_ after so long on the road.

Even as she thought it, Link and Malon were carrying on a conversation about the ranch and its history. Sheik hardly paid attention, staring at her food and trying not to feel queasy about the information Malon would ask for later.

"—Malon, huh? Is your name why this place is called Lon Lon Ranch?"

"You know, most people don't pick up on that," Malon said. "But my family has had a long, long history of people sharing this name, and names like it, so we could keep on with the tradition. My momma's name was Ashlon, and my grandpa before her was named Dylon, but I'm named for one of the first people who ever founded this ranch, back when we lived closer to Castle Town—"

Maybe it was good that they were talking so aimlessly. Sheik didn't think she'd be able to follow them if she tried, because her worries were coming to a breaking point. If it built up much further, Sheik was sure it'd overwhelm her, and she definitely didn't want to lose her cool in front of both of them.

Didn't Link realize that Malon could be the key to whether or not they saved girls in Marr? How was he so comfortable around her when she'd be asking for their story later? Every smile, every laugh, every compliment was just putting off the inevitable.

Malon was someone they were depending on. Neither Sheik nor Link knew her, and yet she had the right to decide whether or not they spent the night under the stars or inside, and whether or not they'd get horses to rent on the way to Tal. What if she refused? Sheik's heart beat faster at the very idea, and she could feel her face start to pale from the stress of worrying.

Before she could completely panic, Sheik stood up from the table. "Excuse me," she said, having to take several deep breaths to stay calm on her way out of the room.

Sheik ducked into the nearest powder room, undoing her mask just long enough to look in the mirror.

Her eyes were still red.

She had almost forgotten to check, these past weeks. Every morning she reapplied it more from habit than careful consideration. What if she'd missed one day? It scared her that she might not even realize if she hadn't.

Sheik leaned close to the sink, gripping its edges so hard her knuckles whitened.

What was she doing? She was on the road with a man she hardly knew, and yet already, she was growing so comfortable around him that she'd slipped up. Her heart ached at the lie she'd had to tell, but as she looked up into red eyes, Sheik knew that verbal lies weren't the only ones she told.

And no matter how many deep, slow breaths she took, Sheik's heart refused to slow.

If she stayed much longer, someone might notice something suspicious about her absence. Sheik closed her eyes, forcing a calm that she didn't feel, and prayed that it would be enough to fool the others, even if it would never fool herself.

By the time she returned, the comfortable, cheerful atmosphere had all but vanished.

"Sheik," Link said, smiling up at her as she returned. But there was worry in his eyes, and Sheik had to look away before she felt guilt set in. "Hey—you alright?"

"Fine," Sheik said, taking the place she had before. Her food was still untouched on her plate, and she could practically feel Link's worried stare focusing on it. "So—Malon. I hate to be abrupt, but I'd like to know whether we can stay tonight or not. What do you need to know of our quest?"

Malon considered her, but the shrewd, businesslike look from before was tempered, somewhat. "Let's start with how the two of you—a King's Sheikah, and a knight—started workin' together."

"He was tasked with finding the King's daughter, and I'm a servant of the King. As a servant of the Royal Family, the King's daughter's safety is my utmost priority—especially in these times." Sheik stared at her cup, guilt twisting her stomach as she remembered the lie she had told Link. But though it might add to her story with Malon and make her believe her, after how secretive she'd been with Link, it would have been strange to tell her anything more.

She would have to keep her mind on what lies she told to who.

Malon seemed to accept that story, and she nodded at Sheik. "So. You're searching for the Princess. Who all knows that you're searching for her? Have you—have you run into any higher-up enemies? Ones that would follow you, or try to set monsters on you while you rest?"

The very thought made Sheik's blood pressure rise. Was it possible…?

Fortunately, Link answered for her before Sheik could dwell too deeply on it. "We haven't had a problem with that," he said. "We sleep outside every night, with no guards or fortifications or anything. No monsters have attacked us in our sleep even when we were unprotected, so even if we _were_ followed—and I haven't seen any monsters for weeks, and the terrain here is so flat we would've noticed anyone behind us—they definitely wouldn't attack your farm."

"Well, damn," Malon said. "Guess you're not to blame for the ones that keep gettin' onto this property, then."

"How often do those attacks happen, anyways?" Link asked. "Your farm's in the middle of nowhere…"

"I'm a twenty year old young woman who lives mostly alone," Malon said. "And I haven't been kidnapped yet. You do the math."

"So you've been defending yourself all this time?" Link's eyes widened. "How long have they been going after you?"

"Ever since the kidnappings started getting more and more common," Malon said. She ran a hand through her hair, a confident smile on her face. "Almost took me by surprise the first day, but I had a pitchfork in my hand, and I've been workin' with it since I could hold it steady. The monsters didn't have a chance."

Link's face reddened, and Sheik had to resist rolling her eyes. But after all the tension and anxiety still lingering in her, a crush was the least of her worries.

"Are we allowed to stay for the night, then?" Sheik asked. "I'd like to bring the saddle bags in, if I may."

Link looked up at her, embarrassed for a different reason, now. "Did we—did we leave them out on the hills?"

"They're by the barn," Sheik said. "I brought them up when I took Epona."

"Oh. I… Sorry about that, Sheik. I hadn't realized…"

Had he really been so distracted? Sheik tried to shake off her irritation. It didn't matter now—the bags were already back. But hopefully next time Link would remember that she was still here.

"You can bring them up to the spare rooms," Malon said, cutting through the tense silence. "One for each of you, 'less you're planning on sharing?"

There was an underlying question to that, Sheik knew, but despite Link's red cheeks and uncomfortable silence, Sheik had no trouble answering. "We'll be separate, thanks."

Sheik glanced up the stairs, spotting the rooms she assumed Malon was referring to. "I'll start bringing our things in. Thank you for your hospitality," she said, dipping her head in a bow. "I greatly appreciate it."

Malon smiled at her and shook her head. "No need for thanks. Your business is more 'n enough, considering how slow it's been around here recently."

"All the same. Thank you," Sheik said, bowing her head again before heading out the door.

She could hear Link's hurried "Wait—" along with a muffled, hasty "Thank you, Malon, I'll be right back," before he ran out the door and caught up to her.

Sheik didn't protest as he tried to walk alongside her—difficult, considering her rapid pace and his shorter legs—but when he finally grabbed hold of her arm and tried to stop her, Sheik jerked back in irritation. "What do you need, Link?"

"Just slow down for a minute, would you? I want to talk to you." Link frowned slightly, though it was worry underneath it. Though Sheik stopped and allowed him to speak, she averted her eyes, unwilling to look Link in the eye. "What was that back there?"

"What was _what_?"

"You didn't try to be friendly, didn't say a word to either of us about anything but business… You didn't even eat." He furrowed his brows. "Sheik… I know I've been kind of a lousy partner since we got here, and I know I've been a bit spacey, but—"

"You think?" Sheik said. The bite in her tone surprised even her, and she was quick to turn away, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've been doing nothing but staring at her since we got here."

"What else am I supposed to do? I'm being polite!"

" _Polite_."

"She's being kind to us, and she's…" Link ran a hand through the back of his hair, nearly undoing the low ponytail it was done up in. "…She's pretty amazing, living out here on her own. Even if we hadn't helped her, she could've easily taken on the rest of the monsters. A girl like that…"

"You have a crush," Sheik said, matter-of-fact. "I don't care what you feel for her, Link—but just remember that we're leaving tomorrow morning for Tal, alright? Don't get too attached."

Link pressed his lips into a thin line, and he was quiet for a moment before answering. "That's what you do, right? You just don't get attached to people?"

"Don't," Sheik said, leaving no room for argument. "I'm going to bring the saddle bags up. We can divide our things up if you'd like—or not. I don't care where we keep the extras."

"Why did you choose separate rooms in the first place?" When Sheik didn't answer him, Link sighed. "Look, I get it, you're mad at me. Fine. But you're letting it get in the way of our system, aren't you?"

"You looked uncomfortable when she asked if we were sharing a room, so I chose separate. If it bothers you so much, you should have spoken up about it earlier," Sheik said flippantly. She started walking towards the barn, trying to focus only on the saddle-bags no matter how much Link was vying for her thoughts. "Let's just… get the saddle bags and be done with today, alright?"

Link followed beside her, an unreadable expression on his face. But by the goddesses' blessing, he didn't say another word till they had grabbed and equipped the saddle bags and were well on their way to the rooms.

Once they started to part ways though, Link stopped her. "Make sure to get something to eat, would you?" he said. "You didn't even touch lunch."

Sheik let out a 'tch' and turned away. It was neither a yes nor a no, but at least he knew she'd heard him. With that, she went to her guest room and shut the door, locking it behind her.

What did Link know about her health, about her well-being? And besides that, what did he _care_?

Sheik flopped backwards onto the guest bed, staring up at the ceiling. All she wanted was a hot bath and a long, long rest. With how achy and sore she was, she knew the bath would probably do her more good. But the bed was soft, and she hadn't touched anything soft in what felt like ages, let alone laid against it.

Sheik fell into a daze, eyes unable to focus on the ceiling.

Her eye glamour felt like too much of a hassle, so she pulled it back, relieved that her body no longer had to spend the energy supporting it. But now that it was off, it would be more of a hassle to put it back on…

While she was still contemplating the merits of getting up and bathing or finding something to eat, Sheik's daze turned into sleep.

Her last half-coherent thought before falling asleep was whether or not Link, too, was getting some rest. Somehow, she doubted it.

* * *

When Sheik woke, she could not remember her dream. But, much like her last nightmare, she woke to the sensation of falling and startled awake with a gasp.

Having been woken so abruptly, Sheik was shaken, and it took her a moment to compose herself once more. Her muscles were sore, and her aching body was desperate now more than ever for either a hot bath or more sleep.

But her head felt light when she stood to her feet, and Sheik realized all too late that, after not having lunch, it was now so dark outside that she was certain she'd missed dinner, too. At least they had plenty of rations…

Sheik pressed her hand against her forehead, reapplying her glamour in the same pained motion. Though she didn't want to get up, it was the only way to get something to eat, and she had never been fond of waiting till morning to eat. She'd spent far too many nights of her youth going hungry, and if she could avoid it, she preferred it. So she stood, wincing as she felt her sore muscles pull, and checked through the bags she'd brought to her room.

But when she went through the bags, Sheik realized all too late that she hadn't been the one to bring in the rations. Sheik swore, but there was nothing to be done about it. She wouldn't wake Link for something like this, and she wasn't overly fond of seeing him right then anyways.

Sheik sighed. Hopefully there would be something left out for her, but if not… Well. She couldn't remember the last time she'd even been able to cook for herself, so actually heating food up wouldn't be wise. She'd just have to find something cold.

That in mind, she stretched her sore muscles, wincing as every movement agitated them, and made her way out of the room.

Only moments after she gently clicked her door shut and started down the stairs, Sheik heard Malon's voice.

"I was wonderin' when you were gonna come down here," she said softly. "Gave your boy quite a scare, you know. Thinks you're angry with him."

"It's none of your business if I am or not," Sheik said. She spoke before she meant to, and she glanced back to Link's door, praying she hadn't woken him if he was asleep. Not wanting him to overhear if they continued to speak, she hurried downstairs and approached Malon, who was sitting against the big sofa in the living area. "Why are you still awake?"

"You're the guest here, not me," Malon said. "If anything, I oughta be asking you."

Sheik pressed her lips into a frown. "I fell asleep. I'm awake now, so I don't intend to keep on sleeping if I don't need to. So I came down."

Malon scrutinized her, looking her up and down as if questioning something. "Well. If _you're_ up, _I_ might as well stay up. Have to keep my guests entertained, yeah?"

The thought of not being left alone nearly sent Sheik back to the guest room, food be damned. But she forced herself to stay calm, lest she irritate her host. "It's not necessary. I can entertain myself well enough."

"You can, can you?" Malon's smile spread into a grin. "And how might a lady like you entertain yourself alone?"

Being addressed as her true gender after being called 'Mister' all day caught Sheik off-guard. She bristled instantly, hands tightening into fists by her side, though she still didn't come forward or move backwards. "It's none of your—"

"It happens to be my farm, hon," Malon said, cutting her off. "So I would like to know what you're gonna be up to if you stay down here. There are…" She hesitated, glancing towards a small bookshelf across the room. "…Certain family artifacts that I'd rather stay intact."

Sheik followed her line of sight, agitation piqued somewhat more than her curiosity. "Artifacts," she said. "Why would I be looking through your artifacts?"

"There are a few books I've been asked to look after," Malon said, waving it off as if it were nothing. "When my parents moved out here to this farmhouse, they only brought a few family things. And, well. Now it's my responsibility, I suppose."

"It's not like I'm going to touch them," Sheik said. "I wouldn't have known about them if you hadn't mentioned them."

Malon looked her over, a contemplative frown on her face. "…Maybe I had you all wrong, then."

"We've hardly said five words to each other before tonight," Sheik said. "What is it you were trying to figure out about me?" As little as she'd said to Malon, and as much about her identity that she'd kept secret, she couldn't help her spiked heart-rate. Perhaps those knowing smiles Malon had been sending her all day were something far different than what she'd expected—

"I suppose if you aren't her it's nothing to worry about, then," Malon said. "It's just, I've only ever heard of a Sheikah named Sheik in one story, and no one else seems to know it… and she was the Princess in disguise. But maybe it's a pretty common story for Sheikahs."

Sheik's pulse quickened.

The air in her lungs vanished, and all the wetness of her throat went with it.

"How do you know of that story," Sheik finally managed, words far slower and more difficult than they should have been. "I've only ever heard it from my—from my mentor."

Malon looked closer at her. But, after careful contemplation, she seemed to have pity on her. Instead of asking her anything else, she stood and started for the kitchen. "How about we get you some water first? I need some coffee if we're gonna be staying up much later."

From the sounds of it, they'd be settling in for a long night with far more conversation than Sheik wanted to participate in. But if it meant finding out who else knew of this tale, and how she could protect herself, Sheik knew she had to stay.

She couldn't find her voice yet, so she merely nodded, watching as Malon got up and started for the kitchen.

To her surprise, Malon's voice was sweet when she spoke to her again. "You know, thinking about it, you never did come down for lunch or dinner. How 'bout we fix you something, hm?"

Sheik didn't have the voice to refuse, and though she was feeling a bit too anxious to stomach anything now, she knew she probably ought to eat before she lost the ability entirely.

Malon was quick to hand her a glass of water, then pulled out what Sheik assumed were leftovers from dinner. Sheik sipped slowly at the water while Malon cooked, finally pulling her mask off.

It was nice to breathe freely again, but Sheik felt overly exposed—and for more reasons than just the mask.

Whatever Malon knew, it was too much. Sheik couldn't relax knowing that she had been recognized, however mildly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finding that even with her mask off and silence in the room, she couldn't feel at ease.

At least it would give her time to come up with an excuse, a story—time she didn't have when Link asked her.

Sheik knew that Malon had heard the same story she had. Was it possible she knew more of the story? Or less than Sheik?

And how did she learn it in the first place? Sheik had been to most of Hyrule and seen more libraries in her youth than most had in their lives. She had scoured each of them for all their tales of the heroes of old, and the story of the Hero of Time wasn't mentioned anywhere. When she got older, she assumed it had just been a myth—that it was just a story Impa had made up and presented as a real story. It felt real to her, so she had no qualms telling Link, but…

For someone else to know it…

…Was it possible that the Hero of Time had _actually_ existed?

And why would a farm girl on a ranch in the middle of nowhere have the story?

Sheik glanced back to the books in the library, feeling a strange intuition guiding her. Even as she spoke, she was half certain of the answer. "Who wrote those books—the ones your family has?"

"You know, he didn't sign his name," Malon said, not even turning to look at her while she cooked. "But it's written from the perspective of a great hero who was forgotten."

"From his _perspective_?"

"Everything from growing up in the Kokiri forest to being sent back through time," Malon said. "Talks about how he was close friends with one of the first owners of this place, you know—the daughter of the original founder. I share her name."

"Malon," Sheik said, testing the name on her tongue. "…The Sheikah story I was taught doesn't mention a farm, or any Malons."

"I reckon there's a lot your record leaves out, then, considering how close he was with my ancestor." Malon finally turned to look at her, lips pulled to a smile. "He was very discreet 'bout his private affairs, so he never mentions who it was he settled down with. I like to think he married my ancestor, of course, but he never does mention his family life, 'sides from having a kid with someone."

"I was never told what he did after being sent back through time," Sheik said. "It must have been lost to Sheikah records. …Yours might be the only complete written record."

Malon nodded and turned back to cooking. "Likely. Didn't seem the talkative sort, you know. He had a few diaries with more private stuff in 'em, but I think it was mostly a dream journal. Terrifying stuff in that one—never much liked it, but my family kept the collection together all the same."

"You mentioned that you knew of… the person who I was named after," Sheik said. "Aside from her identity, what else does your record have of her?"

Sheik prayed that it was nothing too descriptive. But coming from the hero's own writings, Sheik dreaded what she might hear against her own secrets. …Yet, Sheik was curious. Though Impa told her much of the story, there were never many details since it was mostly spoken, and from a record that was missing many pieces of the tale.

Malon didn't turn back to look at her, but her posture was quite still as she hesitated to answer. "He spoke of her a lot," she finally said. "More than most people from his original time. Her and Navi, mostly, though he was homesick for the Kokiri forest and Saria." Sheik frowned, the names distant from her memory, though she was sure Impa had mentioned them occasionally. "She never stuck around much for him, but showed up often enough that he… he really did want her to stick around, y'know?"

Sheik stayed quiet. This was a part of the tale she hadn't heard before. Had the original Sheik not stayed with him as much the Sheikah record implied?

"Eventually, I s'pose he fell in love with her, even though he hardly knew her. Didn't mention it much in the book, but he wrote about how heartbroken he felt when she sent him back. He didn't mind that she was Zelda—he just hated that she hadn't let him stay."

"But surely… he would have wanted to go back?" Sheik furrowed her brows. "Hyrule was greatly damaged by that point. It would have been simpler to just—"

"When she sent him back, he lost _everything_ ," Malon said, a sharp edge cutting into her voice. Even generations forward, it seemed that the Lon family wasn't fond of minimizing what the Hero of Time had gone through. "His fairy, all of his friends, all of his things, and the girl he loved."

Sheik stared down into her water, feeling somewhat sick. "…How could he have lost it all?"

"She messed around with Time," Malon said. "Permanently. He was the only one to remember his quest once he got back to his original era. And no one was the same as he knew them, either. The princess never… _This time's_ Zelda never went through what _his_ Zelda had gone through, so she never became like the one he loved."

It seemed the food had finished cooking, because Malon quickly pulled it off the stove and put it on a plate, passing it towards Sheik. "Well, go on," Malon said, passing her a fork. "Eat up. I'm sure you're hungry, and if you're that interested, I could tell you a bit more—just so long as you don't touch the books."

Sheik nodded, trying not to betray her underlying motives. Curious or not, she still needed to know how much Malon might suspect. As she ate, Malon sat down next to her, a coffee cup in hand.

"Let's see," she said, sitting back and taking a long sip of her coffee. "What is it you were askin' again? About Sheik?"

"Our legends don't talk much about what she was actually like. She was regarded as a great heroine and an honorary Sheikah," Sheik said between bites. "But I'd like to know what she might have actually been like. It's no use respecting the memory of someone if they… If they don't deserve it."

Malon nodded, offering her a sympathetic smile. "It's alright, hon, I understand. I still refuse to believe those nasty wolf rumors about the Hero of Twilight, but I suppose there's power in the truth."

Sheik nodded, lips pulling into a contemplative frown.

"Don't look so glum," Malon said, smiling up at her. Sheik remembered all too late that her mask was down to eat. Would she have to hide her expressions, or could she manage this conversation? As it was, it hardly felt like Malon was even trying to figure her out anymore. Had she already convinced her? "There's plenty of good things he wrote about her, too, y'know."

Without waiting for further prompting—especially since Sheik was now eating in earnest—Malon started to speak once more.

"She was mysterious at first—very distant and reserved, talking almost exclusively about Sheikah history, and how he truly looked like the legendary Hero of Time. Never explained that one, really—but I suppose you'd know more about Sheikah prophecies than I would." Malon took a sip of her coffee, a smile tugging on her lips as she remembered a detail. "The Hero of Time always talked about how she'd vanish without a trace after giving him a warp song."

"Warp song?" Sheik asked. "Did he write any of those down, perchance?"

"They're pretty simple melodies, so of course he wrote down the notes—but they'll only work with the right magical items… And even then, they probably require a part of the Triforce, for all I know." At Sheik's disappointment, Malon couldn't help but laugh. "It's a good thing for me, really—I'd be out of business if everyone could warp to new areas instead of having to rent a horse. Not to mention some of those areas might be in ruins by now…" She shook her head, getting back on track after a moment. "Come to think of it, she might have just been warping out every time she disappeared in a flash. He always described her as pretty powerful for her size."

Sheik tried to think of any Sheikah magic that would give her that power, but Impa had never mentioned it. Hopefully she didn't look as disappointed as she felt; though the Triforce of Wisdom would certainly do more harm than good if she was caught with it, she couldn't deny that it'd be useful if it gave her such a power.

Still, though the powers were interesting, Sheik had a guilty fascination with her namesake herself.

"You said he'd fallen in love with her," Sheik said, avoiding eye contact. "How?" _How could he love someone like that?_

Malon looked at her as if she'd just asked something ridiculous. "You can't just ask _how_ someone falls in love with someone else, hon—it just happens." At Sheik's subdued silence, Malon cracked a smile and shook her head. "But… I think it might have had something to do with how she helped him and how lonely he was. She was one of the few familiar faces he saw. Most the people he saw ended up becoming sages," she said, "So to have someone who not only helped him, but appeared over and over and over again… She was a lot more stable than most of the others he met. Not to mention she was always just out of his grasp… I guess he couldn't help loving her a little."

"…I see," Sheik said, though she didn't understand. "For his sake, I wish he had been able to stay in his own time."

As Sheik finished the last of her food, Malon rested her arm against the counter and looked at Sheik. Not snooping, or staring, either—she just looked her over, as if deciding something.

"I have to admit, it's kind of suspicious to meet a Sheikah named Sheik when the princess is missing—especially since the tale is so rare." Sheik prayed that it wasn't too obvious that she was holding her breath. "But even if you were her, I probably wouldn't turn you in."

The statement caught Sheik so off-guard that she stared up at her, incredulous. "And why is that?"

"For one, the entire time you've been here, you've been focused on getting to another town so you can help some of the girls that have been hunted down. And for another, the first time I saw you, it was when you'd just thrown a knife at a monster that was trying to hurt me." Malon grinned at her. "Kind of hard to hate someone for that. All I'm saying is, if the princess is still out there, I hope she's doing as much good as you are."

Sheik looked down, more than a little embarrassed at so much praise. "I hope she is, too," she finally managed. Remembering herself, and remembering that Malon, despite her words, could not know the truth, added, "Though more than anything, I hope she's safe."

Malon nodded, then finished the rest of her coffee. "Definitely." She glanced at the empty cup in her hands then laughed, looking a little sheepish. "Well, now that I've just finished my coffee, I'm gonna try to get some shut-eye till morning. You oughta do the same, though I understand if you can't fall back asleep after sleeping most the day away."

"I doubt it," Sheik said. Remembering her sore muscles, she glanced hopefully back at the staircase, biting the inside of her cheek. "Do you happen to have a bath I could use?"

"Right next to Link's guest room," Malon said. "Just try not to wake him—he came down not long before you, looked like he hadn't slept a wink. I gave him an old family recipe almost guaranteed to put 'im to sleep… So don't you waste my hard work, alright?"

"I won't." Sheik stood, wincing as her sore body had to support her yet again. It must have been more obvious than she thought, because Malon was quick to offer an arm of support. "I'm fine," Sheik said, pulling away in an instant. "I just need take a hot bath before it get worse."

Malon gave her a sympathetic look, but she stepped away nonetheless. "Red potion?"

It was too tempting to pass up. Sheik nodded, leaning against the counter so she didn't have to support her full weight. Malon rummaged in the cupboard a moment, then pulled out a jar full of red potion. She poured it into a smaller cup for her, more mindful of recommended doses than Sheik had ever been.

Sheik downed it in an instant, closing her eyes in relief as the potion started to set in.

With Sheik set to go, Malon smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Have a nice bath," she said, flirtatious smile back in place. "I'll be in my room if you or Link needs me, alright?"

Sheik nodded and bid her goodnight, keeping her footsteps quiet as she headed up to the bath-room.

She had a lot to think about before they set out on the road to Tal. And yet, as she started the water and settled in for a long, long soak, all Sheik could think about was the Sheik she was named after.

Despite her helpfulness, she sounded cold, and distant, and aloof. Would Link have found that Sheik as incapable of love as he found Nayru?

And did he think his own partner as incapable of love as the both of them combined?

Sheik grit her teeth at the very thought. No. She wouldn't dwell on this. She couldn't. There was too much at stake for her to waste time thinking about something so trivial—something so meaningless.

She'd been alone for most of her life. There was no reason for her to question it now.

* * *

When morning came, Sheik had had plenty of time to rest, to pack, and—most unfortunately—to think. But Malon got up early enough to make breakfast for them and assign them horses they could rent for a fair price.

It was more than Sheik wanted to pay, but Malon wouldn't rent them just one horse, lest they push it as hard as they'd pushed Epona. And after getting a free night's lodging and not having her secret blown, Sheik was in a better mood than usual.

And maybe, just maybe, Sheik was feeling a little amiable towards her host.

So she ate breakfast with Malon and Link both—hardly minding her visible face—and felt, at least somewhat, at peace as she allowed her new horse to get acquainted with her.

Just as they were getting ready to board, though, Malon approached them, a small few packages in her arms.

"I know you've gotta get on the road soon," she said, looking at Link, "But—you mentioned you were running a little low on a few things. People haven't been comin' 'round here as much so I figure I probably oughta be nice to what customers I do get."

She held out a bundle and Link took it, surprise obvious on his face. "Malon… you didn't—"

"I wanted to," she said. The smile on her face was much more kind than flirtatious, and Sheik couldn't help but feel as though she'd missed something crucial while she'd slept. But then, so had Link. "Take care of yourself, y'hear? _And_ of your partner. She might be a Sheikah but she's still a lady."

Link laughed and accepted the bundle, but not before pulling Malon into a quick hug. "I will."

For some reason, though this was more contact between them than she'd seen them share before, Sheik felt more at ease than yesterday, when Link was merely staring at Malon.

The hug ended soon enough, and when they parted, Sheik realized that Malon still had a small bundle in her hands.

"Now, I know I said not to touch 'em, but this is one of the copies someone wrote out, not the original. It skips a couple of areas, an' doesn't mention a lot of the later things in his life, but…" Malon smiled a little lopsidedly, handing her a small brown parcel, the size and shape of a journal. "I figure you oughta know the whole story if it fascinates you so much."

Sheik was speechless for a moment. But finally she accepted the bundle under one arm, and offered her hand to Malon, who took it with some surprise. "I… appreciate this. Very much." She bowed her head in gratitude, words catching in her throat. "Thank you."

"Not much of a story if no one else knows it," Malon said. She reached up with her other hand, lightly patting the back of Sheik's hand. "Try to fill in the records for the Sheikah, will you?"

Sheik's mind flashed to Kakariko, and guilt welled up within her. "As soon as I can."

Malon smiled brighter, then released her hand. "I'm counting on you," she said. With that, she took a few steps back, leaving them to the horses. "I'll see you when you return the horses—don't run them into the ground, y'hear?"

"I'll make sure of it," Link said, putting the bundle inside one of the saddle bags. He hopped up onto his designated horse (called 'Bashful' for her disposition), gently patting her neck to reassure her. "Thanks, Malon—for everything."

"Anytime, hero." There was almost a joke in her voice, and Link laughed right along with her. Again, Sheik wondered what she'd missed, but if it was important, she supposed she'd find out eventually.

Sheik gently tucked the journal into a saddle-bag, knowing she likely wouldn't have time to read it for a while. Like Link, she hopped up onto her horse—affectionately dubbed 'Blossom'—and led her towards the exit.

"Have a safe trip!"

Though Sheik certainly couldn't promise anything, she did manage a small, reassuring smile as she glanced back one more time at Malon. Without another word, though, she started off, south-east, finally back on track to Tal.

* * *

"So, what was that about?" Link asked, voice almost lost to the wind as their horses trotted together. "The—the thing she gave you. Was that a book?"

"Yes," Sheik said. "Just a book."

His voice was softer when he spoke again—so soft she really couldn't hear him. Sheik found herself wishing, inexplicably, that they were sharing a horse again. But with sharing a horse came touching, and… Sheik knew she probably shouldn't wish to be in a position where she had to wrap her arms around someone just to stay on. But it did make conversation easier. She stared at him blankly, brows furrowed in confusion before he repeated himself. "—I said, what is it about?"

"Just the story I was telling you yesterday, before we arrived." Probably best _not_ to mention just how rare the story was. "She had one of the original copies."

Link nodded, looking a bit mollified. "I take it that was what you were talking about last night?"

"You were awake?" Sheik's heart-rate spiked. Trying not to look as panicked as she felt, she added, "If you were awake, why didn't you join us?"

"No—I just… You were acting civil with her yesterday, so I figured _something_ must have happened while I was sleeping."

"You and I both," Sheik muttered, inaudible over the wind. At least she wasn't alone in wondering what had happened when she hadn't been present. It felt nice to not be the only one out of the loop. Sheik spoke again, this time loud enough to be heard. "I… apologize for my hostility yesterday. It was… Unwarranted."

Link shook his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "Don't be sorry—I was just…" He looked away, obviously searching for more innocent words than he would have otherwise used. "I was just a little overwhelmed, I guess."

"Overwhelmed?" Sheik rode a bit closer to hear him easier, though not close enough to jeopardize their horses' safety. "How?"

"She's the second girl I've met in the last few weeks that introduced herself by," Link made a vague hand gesture, and Sheik could see just a hint of a blush creeping onto his face. "By… By fighting like that. Taking down monsters, or people who were acting like monsters. Kind of hard not to be impressed."

"Impressed, huh." Sheik stared straight ahead, doing her best to focus on navigating instead of Link's words. It didn't stop her curiosity, though, and she turned back towards him with a contemplative frown. "Do you behave like that around every girl that impresses you? Or just the pretty ones?"

Somehow, his face turned pinker. "I try not to behave like that at all."

"You ought to try harder, then," Sheik said. "If we ever fight a skilled warrior who's _pretty_ , too, I'd prefer it if you could keep your eyes on her weapons."

Link let out a loud laugh. "Hey, I'm competent fighting against you, aren't I?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" When Link didn't answer her, Sheik huffed and looked straight ahead. "Tonight we'll practice extra. I might not be as distracting as Malon, but I fully expect you to be competent if we have to fight against anyone like her."

With that, she steered her horse away, Link's answer lost to the wind.

* * *

When they finally settled down for camp—late, late at night so they wouldn't have to travel as far tomorrow to get to Tal—Sheik first started with practicing her magic. If Tal was anything like Oxon, she'd need all the magic she could get.

But she didn't want to wear herself out, either. Since they'd camped so late, she was quite tired, and magic took even more out of her—not to mention she wouldn't have as much sleep to replenish her energy. But she meant it when she said they'd spar tonight, and after sitting for so much of the day, she was practically aching to move around.

It was Link, though, that first approached her. "You were being serious, right?" he asked, already stripped down to his sparring gear. "'Cause it's pretty dark, you know. Not much distraction if I can't even see you—"

Sheik grinned. "I've always wanted to try this in the dark."

She moved back into a clearing, motioning for Link to join her. The ground was blessedly flat, with few rocks or roots to trip them with. Link followed at a distance, matching her stance once she'd turned to face him.

It was a fairer fight than most of their physical sparring was. This time, Link wasn't exhausted or at a clear disadvantage with agility. Not to mention Sheik was worn out from practicing magic. But her night vision was better, balancing the scales for each punch.

Having become so familiar with each other's fighting styles, Sheik wasn't afraid to pull bolder moves, though her execution was slower than usual. Every too-quick dodge, every time she slid just under his arm and out of his grasp, every close call and hard hit was dangerous.

And because it was dark, and because they'd become so attuned to each other, Sheik was becoming more comfortable with _more_ dangerous maneuvers.

So when Link caught hold of her wrist as she tried to evade him and failed, Sheik changed her direction in an instant. She used his grasp as leverage, forcing it back so she could spring up and off of his shoulder, using gravity to bring the both of them back down.

Link, caught by surprise by the attack, couldn't shake her off. But because Sheik wasn't trying to hurt him, she let go last minute so that the only weight driving Link to the ground was his own. Still, it was a hard landing, and Sheik winced in sympathy as he hit the ground.

She supposed her own landing was fair, then, as she'd nearly twisted her ankle when she misjudged her angle. But neither of them were worse for the wear, and when they met in the middle, the spirit of competition had only gotten stronger.

Link, a bit beat up but no slower because of it, lunged at her with an uppercut Sheik was quick to dodge. But all too late, she realized that it was his plan, because at the last moment, he pulled his hand back and instead used it to grab hold of her.

Because Link's attacks had been so focused on grabbing, their sparring was turning into an elaborate game of keep away—one that Sheik was sure she'd lose eventually.

But for now, she grinned, dodging too slow to avoid him touching her, but just fast enough that he couldn't get a grip. It was still far too close of a call, and Sheik's getaway was clumsier than usual. She ended up further away than she wanted, but not far enough that she was out of his range. Sheik had to kick upwards, twisting her body mid-air so she could land properly on her feet.

Her landing wasn't quite as solid as she'd hoped, though, and she had to take a moment to steady herself.

"Getting tired?" Link asked, laughter in his voice.

Sheik shook her head, but she couldn't hide her own smile. "Not a chance."

Up in the sky, the moon had been mostly hidden by a cloud for their match. But the cloud started to move, thus shifting the fight slightly out of Sheik's favor as Link was no longer as blind as he had been. She'd have to be quick if she was going to beat him—but then, if all she was doing was trying to evade his capture, they could be at it all night.

Sheik readied her stance. She'd give him a fight, alright—she wasn't going to be the one to call off the match.

The pair continued on into the night, blows getting simultaneously slower and more dangerous from both sides as they tired. Neither was willing to give up tonight. It had turned into more of a game than any of their previous matches, and the thought of _losing_ the game would be too much of a blow to their pride.

It wasn't until the very terrain they were standing on started to shift that they even _considered_ backing down—and even then neither was quite willing to call off the match.

And then, the unthinkable.

Sheik dodged, far too slow, and in one fatal move, Link's hand clasped around her shoulder.

But the slippery terrain propelled him further forward than he'd anticipated, and Sheik was caught too off guard to correct herself.

She was on a collision course with the ground, with Link set to land on top of her.

Honestly, she wasn't too bothered—she'd taken worse landings. And after being so tired out from fighting, she would rather resign to her fate than attempt to change it.

But before she could reach the ground, Link twisted hard to the left. Their legs tangled as he so abruptly turned on his heel, but no matter how badly they got mixed up in each other, Link seemed to get his desired result. (Though why he'd _want_ to land hard on his back with Sheik on top of him, Sheik couldn't know.)

No matter his intentions, heaviness of the landing knocked his breath away. Sheik recovered sooner, propping herself up on her palms—one on either side of Link's head—so she wouldn't keep adding pressure to his already burdened diaphragm. Yet, even as Link caught his breath, he was remarkably still.

And Sheik understood, somewhere deep within her, that his stillness had nothing to do with the heaviness of his landing.

Link stared up at her, either unable or unwilling to look away. And Sheik, for her part, couldn't bring herself to look anywhere but him. She was frozen to her core—ironic only for the heat under cheeks as she stared.

It was the wind that finally prompted them to move, but not in the way Sheik expected. Her hair, already a mess, fell down into her face as the wind picked up. But before she could even think to move it back, Link reached for it. As he gently tucked it behind her ear, Sheik realized that she could no longer remember how to breathe—let alone why it was necessary.

It wasn't until Link opened his mouth to speak that the magic of the moment was broken.

But before he could say a single word, Sheik jerked backwards. She was on her feet before she even realized she was in motion, and if it weren't for instinct, she might have fallen again. But she regained her balance soon enough, and without a word, she reached for Link's hand to help him up.

"You… alright, then?" Link asked as he took her hand. "Sorry for—um. I just—I figured you might not want to land between me and the dirt."

Sheik parted her lips to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she just nodded and pulled him upright, his hand strong and steady in hers. It occurred to her all too late that her heart was beating fast inside her chest. Could he feel it through her hand?

Finally, she managed to speak, but only when she looked away. "We—we ought to get setup for bed. It's late."

"You're probably right." Link kept hold of her hand, not yet willing to let go. He hesitated before he spoke next, but when he finally did, it was with a softness Sheik didn't expect. "Sheik, about our… about our partnership… I—"

"We have a long day tomorrow," Sheik cut in. Her face burned, and her heart was beating too fast to be healthy. She couldn't talk to him about this—not now. "We… we need to get some sleep."

If Link was disappointed or felt rejected, he didn't show it. Instead, he took advantage of her hand still held in his and raised it to his lips. The kiss was barely there, and so light that Sheik could hardly feel it through the bandages around her fingers. But no matter how gentle it was, Sheik could feel his lips' warmth against her skin, and she swore it stopped her heart for a moment.

"Goodnight, then," he said softly, letting go of her hand. "I… I'll see you in the morning."

And without another word, Link started back towards the campsite.

Sheik watched him from afar for much longer than she meant to. But even when he'd laid down on his sleeping mat and closed his eyes, Sheik couldn't bring herself to move. Not till her heart finally slowed.

But the warmth on her fingers, long since physically gone, remained with her even as she laid down on her own sleeping mat and tried to sleep.

* * *

 **((Well. Your first concrete evidence of Shink/Zelink for Valentine's Day. Hope you liked it! I was actually going to add more to this chapter but then I looked at the word count and realized this is already pretty long and you guys have been waiting long enough. Plus, I mean. Leaving off here, on Valentines Day? Kind of perfect. But anyhow!**

 **Thank you so much for your patience, and for your kind reviews. As I mentioned earlier, I want to thank you all for being so sweet with me. Everyone who had wanted faster updates apologized—and in such a sweet, genuine way that I was taken by surprise. Thank you so much for sticking with me and for being so patient and thoughtful, all of you. You're absolutely wonderful.**

 **And I hope you liked this chapter! I know it was rather slow plot-wise, but there are some elements mixed in that will become** _ **very**_ **important in time, and well. I tried to give you plenty of Shink/Zelink to make up for the slowness. After this, it'll be a lot of plot, which will hopefully take less time to write since it'll move along and jump around faster. Anyhow! If you liked this chapter, and even if you didn't, please review! Thank you all so much for your support!))**


	17. Chapter 17

When Sheik and Link arrived at Tal, it was hardly midmorning. Despite their late night, Sheik woke early enough to watch the sun rise. …Though, claiming to have woken when she hadn't slept at all was something of a stretch. Still, no matter how tired she felt, she was too wide awake to feel the effects of such little sleep. And because of that early morning—leaving before the sun had even fully risen above the horizon—it didn't take long before they arrived at Tal.

Or rather, arrived at what remained of Tal.

"…This is the right place, isn't it?" Link asked, stopping Bashful in front of a sign labeled 'Tal.'

Sheik stopped next to him, dismounting and tying her own horse—Blossom—to the sign. "Well… Ravio did say that it was 'high up in the sky,'" she said. "Plus, it's not like this is that strange, considering what we've already seen. Oxon was surrounded by a wall of flames, and Ardock was colder the further inwards you ventured—"

Link, who'd been in the middle of dismounting, nearly fell as he processed her words. "So you _were_ at Ardock when it was still frozen," he accused. "I _knew_ it was you—Ilia owes me thirty rupees."

"It doesn't matter now," Sheik said, cheeks warm behind her mask. She looked quickly to the foundations of Tall, which appeared to be all that was left of it. The buildings were gone, with only the foundations of the houses left below. "…It's almost as if the buildings themselves were just… lifted off of the ground…"

Though Link looked like he still wanted to question her about Ardock, he closed his mouth and considered what she was saying about Tal. He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking for a while before he finally shrugged. "You know, after how strange Oxon was, I'm willing to believe anything. It was surrounded by a huge wall of fire, and yet the smoke was breathable and no one got hurt. I mean, I was expecting the entire city—ground and all—to be lifted up if it was really 'high up in the sky' but… I mean, really, why not just the buildings?"

Sheik looked up at the sky, lips pulling into a frown. "If that's the answer, then… where are they?"

"Might have to come closer," Link said. "At Oxon, the monster was at the middle of the city, and—apparently _someone_ didn't feel like mentioning this before—Ardock got colder the further in you went. So, I figure there's gotta be a pattern here."

Though she didn't much appreciate Link's teasing, Sheik nodded. "We'll leave the horses here. I haven't seen anyone for miles… and with the strangeness here, I doubt anyone else would bother coming this way."

Link nodded, but rummaged around in the saddle-bags for a moment, pulling out a smaller bag that he attached at his hip, as well as his sword and shield. "Just throwing this out there, but there's probably some kind of monster waiting for us. –Or, will there be? Did Ardock have one?"

Sheik rolled her eyes and started to unpack her own things. Knives would be useful, she decided—but then, as she glanced at several long coils of rope, perhaps it wasn't the only useful thing in here… Distracted, it took her a moment before she answered him. "Well. It had _something_ guarding it, yes."

"Something," Link repeated, turning away from her and replacing his normal half-gloves with ones more appropriate for handling a sword. Sheik glanced at him, curious, but he didn't turn around till his sword gloves were fastened. "Something meaning what?"

"It was invisible when I first saw it. And it froze anything that touched it."

Link looked at her with wide eyes. "And you defeated it on your own?"

"It wasn't as tough as the fire monster," she said. "As far as I could tell, its soul was attached to a statue in the middle of the city. I broke the statue, and the curse broke. Just like the water tower and the fire monster at Oxon."

"…And you didn't want to tell me _why_ you knew that?"

"I had no reason to tell you." Now fully equipped, Sheik turned and started towards Tal. Link followed quickly behind her, still fastening his shield. "Besides, we got the job done, didn't we?"

Link caught up to her, a frown on his face. "Well, _yeah_ , but…"

Sheik looked away, eyes trained on Tal instead. Despite a growing urge to answer him, she knew that if she started to tell him all that he wanted to know, she'd be talking all day, and she was bound to tell him more than she should. So she kept her mouth shut and her thoughts focused on the mission at hand.

Besides—there was enough warring in her mind as it was.

Link was more distracting than Sheik wanted to admit on a good day, but considering all that had happened last night…

Heat rose to Sheik's face at the mere memory, but she shook it off, harshly reminding herself of her job. Sheik had to focus on saving Tal; she couldn't afford any distractions.

With that in mind, she started towards the city, looking all-the-while for the actual buildings _of_ the city.

It wasn't until they were at least a mile into the city that they found a clue.

"…A rope," Sheik said, looking up to the thick cable suspended from seemingly nothing. "Why _wouldn't_ there be a rope. Really."

She gently tugged on it, and found that it was sturdy and solid, and that even when she suspended her full weight from it, the rope didn't fall.

Link stared up at where it came from, but at a certain point, it just seemed to fade out of existence. He frowned, tilting his head to the side. "I think whatever it's suspended from, it's being hidden."

Sheik stared at the cable for a good long while, but no matter how strange it seemed, there didn't appear to be any other way to find out what was going on here. So Sheik reached out and grabbed the rope, testing her grip on the rough fibers. "…Well," Sheik finally said. "I guess all we can do is climb it and find out."

"Wait!" Link took hold of her hand, gently pulling her back before she could start climbing. "Considering the rope turns invisible up there… it might be possible that we will, too." He took hold of the rope she'd brought, fastening one end around his waist and handing Sheik the other end so she could do the same. "I'd rather not get separated up there."

Sheik wasn't exactly _happy_ about being attached to her partner, but there didn't seem to be a way around it. "Just stay close," she said as she securely tied the rope around her middle. "I'd rather not fall just because you do."

"Yeah. Just… be careful, alright?" Link said, glancing up at the sky. Worry was in his eyes, and Sheik wondered if he'd be alright climbing. And yet, the longer she looked, the more she realized his worry was directed at _her_. Her heart skipped a beat at the realization, and she had to look away lest she end up as silent and still as she had been last night.

Sheik only managed a nod before she started up the rope.

The climb was longer and further up than Sheik had anticipated, but she had enough staying power that her arms were only just starting to burn when she saw the end of the rope.

As she got closer, she could see that it was attached to something, though that something didn't come into perspective until she was nearly close enough to touch it. As she came closer, though, the glint from the sun nearly blinded her. Whatever cloaking spell was being used didn't seem to appreciate sunlight… Sheik made a note of it, though put it out of her head as she got closer. Once she was nearly an arm's length away, she could finally make out what they were climbing.

A basement—they were climbing up into a basement. Or at least, she was pretty sure it was a basement. The house attached to it was difficult to see, but it looked more like a home than a business.

Realizing that Link was too far below her to see it—and she would probably be blocking his view even if he could—Sheik turned to shout down at him.

Of course, looking down wasn't a great idea, but Sheik had always had a good head about heights. "It's a house," she said, loud enough to reach him. "We're coming up into a house."

"So they really did just move the buildings?" Link shouted up at her. "How did the people know to get out in time?"

Sheik looked back up at the building, then frowned. "…I'm not so sure they did," she said. "Why else would there be this rope?"

She approached the inside of the house and slowly crawled inside, catching her breath as she finally got a chance to rest. Link came up some distance behind her, looking about as tired as she felt. Still, he came up with a small smile on his face, and Sheik offered him a hand as he came up through the basement.

"I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous that the people from Tal got to go _down_ the rope, not up." He sat down next to Sheik, leaning against the wall she was propped up against. "But at least there _was_ a way up…"

"I just hope there's a way to safely get down." Sheik frowned as she thought back to the previous cities, stomach twisting. "There's always been some kind of guardian monster… And once it's defeated, the spell on the city gets lifted."

Link bit the inside of his cheek. "…So, if the curse gets lifted, then…"

"We might get dropped."

"I take it you don't have some kind of magical Sheikah teleportation power?" At Sheik's silence, Link sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well. I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?"

"The smoke was breathable, before, even when all the people were out of the city," Sheik said, frowning as she tried to muddle through it. "And at Ardock… I didn't quite freeze to death, even though it felt like I might… Back at Solen, I was thinking… Maybe they were just trying to force people to evacuate… But maybe they're not trying to hurt people at all, unless they try to break the curse."

Link pressed his lips into a frown. "So, what? They put peoples' lives in danger to get them to evacuate, but don't give any of the city killing power except for the monsters themselves?"

Sheik nodded slowly, though she couldn't quite place why she was feeling so uncertain. "Either we turn back now and go to Marr, or we keep going up and hope for the best, no matter what we face up there."

To her surprise, Link just smiled and shook his head. "I think… I think it'll all work out," he said. "Farore is my patron goddess. If she's the goddess of life, she can't let us die, can she?"

"I'd rather not leave this up to a goddess I don't serve," Sheik said. "I have a responsibility to those girls, Link. I can't just abandon them for a city that no one's even in right now."

Link placed a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her towards him. "Sheik," he said, voice a little more urgent. "Trust me."

Sheik bit her lip, eyes locked with Link's. Though her rationality was telling her to protest, there was a deeper sense within her, and it refused to let her open her mouth.

 _Trust him_ , it said.

And so Sheik let out a slow exhale, closing her eyes and turning her face away. "Okay," she finally said. "We'll go further up."

Though every fiber of her being was protesting, she knew that she had to do this. Just as she knew that she couldn't abandon Link, she knew that she couldn't leave this city without breaking its curse. So she stood and started for the exit.

When she opened the door, she found an entire city awaiting her.

There were no sidewalks, and there were certainly no roads. But because it was such a crowded place, the houses were close enough that she could easily jump between them.

However, where there had been thrill at vaulting houses in Ecchar…

…Somehow, it was slightly more daunting to miss her footing up here.

"Well," Link said. "Not much choice here, is there?"

"If people managed to escape," Sheik said, looking out on the city before her, "Then we can figure out how to get to the center of the city from here."

Link nodded, his wide blue eyes scanning the mess of rooftops. As he directed his eyes upwards, though, his lips parted in surprise, and Sheik followed his gaze.

There were other layers, she realized. Other layers that they'd have to find a way to climb.

And yet, even as she was poised to give up, she saw how many of the buildings along the city were angled just so—as if they were floating stairs leading up to another floor.

"That building," she said, pointing at one just ahead of them. "We'll start there."

"But, Sheik," Link said, brows furrowed. "How…?"

"We'll decide when it comes to that," she said. "But there's a way up. I promise you, there's a way up."

Link nodded, but stepped close enough to follow in her footsteps.

And then, Sheik jumped.

* * *

It took nearly an hour to navigate the maze of houses, but finally, they ended up on the layer that had been directly above them before. As if to prove it, Sheik stood on the edge of a home and looked down, finding their starting place beneath her. A distant roar above her nearly pulled her out of her thoughts, but when Link spoke, she was startled out of her thoughts.

"It still amazes me how they managed to pull all the buildings up into the air like this," Link said. "Whatever's doing this has to be pretty powerful."

"Powerful," Sheik repeated, looking down at the world. "…Too powerful."

Link hummed in agreement. "I really hope that the monsters in the cities aren't the ones responsible. I don't think I'd want to face anything that can lift entire cities up into the sky."

"I doubt the monster at the middle of this city is the one who cast all of this," Sheik said. She bit the inside of her cheek, furrowing her brows. "I don't know what magic they're using, but… I just have a feeling. The magic on the previous towns was too strong to have been cast by such… simple creatures. It has to be the same for this one."

As she stared down at the ground below—and goddesses, they were up high enough to see Lon Lon Ranch—she felt worry turning her stomach.

What if they failed? They'd never break the curse on this city, and they'd never help the girls at Marr, either.

But… what if they succeeded? Would the city come crashing down? Before the city had been unharmed, but Oxon had had boundaries that could burn them, and Sheik knew she could have died if she'd been touched by the monster at Ardock. Clearly whoever was casting these curses didn't want potential curse-breakers to survive. But would the spell caster really just let them fall to their deaths?

What would saving this city be worth if they died before they could help anyone else?

But before she could focus on it for long, Link took her hand and led her away from the edge. "I think we're close to the end," he said. "Any idea what kind of monster we might be facing up there—or what we'll have to break to kill it and get rid of the curse?"

Grateful for the distraction, Sheik didn't even think to let go of his hand. "Ardock's monster was more like a ghost," she explained, "The city was covered in ice, though, and the curse lifted when I broke a statue of a hero of old," she said. "And Oxon was surrounded by fire, and had a monster made up of fire, and it was destroyed when we broke a structure that held water."

"I can see the connections between everything at Oxon, but… Ardock," Link said, looking thoroughly confused. "A ghost, and ice, and a statue…"

"When people talk about meeting ghosts, they often describe feeling ice-cold," Sheik said. "And ghosts are also associated with historical landmarks…"

Link pursed his lips. "So, is the _monster_ the key to it, then? Whatever type of monster it is determines the curse put around the city, and how it has to be defeated?"

Sheik pursed her lips. There had to be more to it than that, but for now, it seemed as good of an explanation as any. "If that's the case, then what kind of monster would suit a mile high city…?"

Sheik looked down at the hundreds and hundreds of feet below them.

It was then that she heard the cry of a monster above them, and she felt her face pale. "A dragon."

"Okay," Link said, nodding his head. "A dragon." Though she could tell he was worried, there was a determination in his eyes now. "What things are associated with dragons? How can we get rid of this thing?"

"Dragons are territorial and known for—for guarding hordes of treasure." Sheik looked up at the buildings still up ahead, but found nothing even close to a treasure room. Tal wasn't exactly known for its wealth, but she could think of nothing else that would warrant a dragon's protection. So how were they supposed to beat it if they couldn't find its object…? "If we see something shiny near it, we need to destroy it, whatever it is."

Her worry bled into her words, though, and she knew the situation didn't look good.

Link gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Hey, it'll be alright," he said. "We'll figure this out."

Sheik nodded, then let go of his hand.

They had a job to do, after all. Sheik couldn't waste time on sentimentality. So she vaulted upwards for the final stretch, dreading what she might find once she finally made it to the top.

* * *

When they finally got to the highest point in Tal, Sheik could see the dragon circling overhead. But because it was so far away, it didn't seem to be able to see them. Sheik took advantage of that.

"Look for anything that it might be guarding," she said, already searching in earnest. Nothing caught her eye instantly, so even as she was searching for something shiny, she was trying to search for anything else that the dragon might be guarding.

It wasn't until the dragon had circled around and started flying towards them, though, that Sheik realized that perhaps it wasn't something _visible_. Not to Hylians, anyways.

After all, if the entire city had been invisible from below, what was to stop the spell caster from making the crucial object invisible?

"Link!" Sheik shouted across the rooftop. "You might not be able to see it even if it's here!"

"Then how are we supposed to break it?" he shouted back. "How can we destroy it if we can't find it?"

"I think that's the point!"

But Sheik refused to die up here. That, more than anything, was what prompted her to search in earnest. Though she knew she probably couldn't find it just by looking, she knew there were other ways of finding things.

Sheik searched her mind for another way to find it, and it was then that she noticed how the sun glinted off of Link's shield.

When they were first climbing up, the illusion had been blindingly bright in the sunlight when she got close… But the sun was at an angle that it wouldn't shine on the building itself—it only reflected off of Link's shield.

Sheik's eyes widened, and she got out her broadest knife.

If they couldn't use the sun themselves, then maybe they could redirect it…

"Link!" Sheik said. "Use your shield! Shine it around the rooftop!"

Link stopped his searching to look at her, but didn't time questioning her. He reflected his shield across the rooftop, though he couldn't shine it on all of it because of the angle of the sun. "I can't get that side," he shouted from across the roof. "I'll shine it on your knife, get the other side while there's still time!"

Sheik nodded, using his shield to redirect light on the other half.

The dragon was getting closer, but before it got too close, Sheik saw a bright outline surrounding something that didn't seem to exist. There was a bright outline of a rectangle just lying on top of the roof, and Sheik ran towards it.

The dragon was getting closer now, and Sheik dove for the object just before the dragon landed on the rooftop.

It was scarcely in her hands before she felt the ground shake behind her.

"Sheik!" Link shouted, giving her just enough warning to dodge to the side. Fire came at her, close enough to burn her had she not moved just out of its range.

Sheik caught her breath, refusing to let panic overwhelm her. She had to figure out _what_ this object was or there'd be no chance of destroying it—and no chance of destroying the monster that came with it.

Though she still couldn't see the object even now that it was in her arms, she could feel that it was hard and metallic. Instantly, she tried to plunge her sword into it, but it resisted the attack. Her heart quickened in her chest, trying to remember a way to destroy thick metal.

"How good are you at holding off dragons?" Sheik asked, trying to summon enough calm to freeze the object in her hands. "It can't tell how long it'll take to freeze it enough to destroy it."

Though Link looked just about as panicked as she felt, he nodded and took a ready stance against the dragon. "Don't get burned."

With that, she moved out of its range, far enough away that it wouldn't notice her unless it was looking for her. Praying she'd have enough time, Sheik gripped the object from opposite sides, concentrating all of her energy on freezing it.

However, her heart sunk in her chest as she realized that no matter how much magic she put into it, it wasn't starting to rust. It simply felt cold in her hands. If only she knew what was burning—but it still refused to show itself.

She could hear Link struggling ahead of her, unable to get close enough to the dragon to hurt it.

Link was trying his best to keep its attention on him rather than her, but there was only so much he could do. And if she couldn't even freeze it with her own power, then he had no business taking all of its fire.

"It's not working," Sheik shouted over the roar of the flames. "Take this and try to destroy it. I'll handle the dragon for now!"

"You don't even have a shield!" Link shouted. "How are you supposed to—?!"

Sheik ran towards him, ducking behind his shield for just a moment and handing him the item. "I have another idea. Stay here and take cover—if this goes well, I should get it off of your back for a while."

Before Link could question her, Sheik cut the rope that tied them—much closer to Link's end than hers—and dived out of Link's cover. The dragon instantly targeted her and sprayed fire towards her with a vengeance.

Instead of trying to get away from the dragon, though, Sheik ran up to it. As it couldn't crane its neck to direct fire at her, it tried to claw her, but she maneuvered out of the way fast enough to avoid being sliced.

"Are you insane?" Link shouted. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I have a plan!" Without another word, she leapt onto its back. It instantly tried to buck her off, but Sheik held fast. "Just try to destroy it with your sword! It wouldn't break with my knives or magic—maybe your sword will have better luck!"

The dragon sprayed fire into the air in an attempt to force Sheik off. Though it didn't hurt her too badly, it did catch the back of her leg and burned through the suit before Sheik could use her magic to ice it.

"What are you _doing_ , Sheik?"

"Just destroy it before it starts targeting you again!" she shouted. "I don't know how long it'll focus on me!"

Sheik could only half watch as Link plunged his sword onto the box, but she saw enough that he was struggling. Would his sword even break through the metal on the box now that Sheik had frozen it?

Her pulse spiked as she realized the dragon wasn't struggling as hard anymore. In fact, it was starting to spread its wings.

It hadn't managed to buck her off while it was on land, so it was going to try its luck in the air.

Sheik swallowed down nausea at the thought.

But she had a job to do. So Sheik closed her eyes and focused hard on surviving the flight. In a sudden burst of inspiration, she grabbed the end of the rope she'd severed from Link, then tied it around the dragon's neck. Though it wasn't nearly strong enough to strangle the beast, it would be enough to help her stay on.

"Keep trying," she said. "I'm going up."

"Up?!"

"Not like I have much choice," Sheik said. The words had barely left her lips before the dragon finished spreading its wings and took off straight into the air. Sheik gripped tight around its body, locking herself in place with her knees.

It didn't take long for it to realize that flight itself wasn't going to scare her off. So the dragon rolled to the side, then back again to the other side. Sheik found herself slipping after the first, but managed to get a better grip before it rolled again. The scales weren't easy to find purchase, and her suit certainly didn't provide much grip, but Sheik was stubborn. She refused to be bucked off—especially at this height.

Realizing that rolling wasn't going to work either, the dragon started flying in a jerky zig-zag pattern. The sudden acceleration had her slipping backwards, but the rope around its neck prevented her from sliding off. Still, the longer she stayed on it, the more she was sweating, and the less of a grip she had. If she tried to stay on for too long, Sheik knew she would fall.

If she was going to survive this, she'd have to think fast.

An idea seized her before fear could overwhelm her. At her idea's best, she'd manage to stop the dragon's advances… and at the very worst, Sheik would rather fall on her own terms rather than be bucked off. Though Sheik knew the risks, she also knew that she didn't have much of a choice. So she took a deep breath, braced herself, and then let go.

She flew backwards in an instant. But though it hurt her, it seemed to have hurt the dragon more. The rope around its neck tightened and cut off its airway for a moment, and the longer she was suspended from it, the less it seemed able to breathe.

And if it couldn't breathe, Sheik realized, it couldn't spew fire.

It would need a minute to catch its breath before it could breathe again, and Sheik used that time to climb the rope.

During the climb, it tried to knock her off, but because she was tied to its neck, most of its movements had little effect on her. She got back up to its back with relative ease, though she knew she'd be pushing her luck if she wasted any time.

Though she doubted the monster would die without its object's destruction, she had to at least _try_ to kill it. So with a quick prayer to Hylia, she plunged her dagger into the back of its neck, just below the rope.

The dragon cried out with anger, but Sheik could tell it had been hurt badly. She took a deep breath, praying she'd stay on long enough to make another mark.

Her prior plan had been risky enough, but she knew that it would be suicide if this one went wrong. Its wings were the only things holding them up, but if Sheik was ever going to land—and if she was ever going to help Link destroy the object—then she needed to destroy its wings.

So with baited breath, Sheik plunged a long knife into one of the dragon's wings and braced for impact.

It quickly started to fall, now only having one wing to keep it fully upright. But it wasn't falling fast enough, and the longer it floundered, the more it seemed to be recovering. Sheik stabbed it in the same wing, over and over and over again, till it finally seemed unable to recover.

As the rooftop with Link came closer, Sheik repositioned herself atop its back once more.

But in a last ditch effort to force her off of it, the dragon changed its position. It was angled to land on its back, set to crush her on impact.

If she let go, she'd still end up falling beneath it—and they were falling too fast for her to try to steer it. She closed her eyes, strategizing as best as she could. The only thing she could think of was trying to get to the front of the dragon, but there was nothing to grip on its chest.

Sheik climbed up its neck, struggling with all her might to hang on while the dragon shook his head and tried to force her off. Finally, she managed to get to the front of its neck, but she had no time to go lower before, together, they hit the rooftop.

Because she had been on a thinner part of the dragon, there wasn't much cushion from the fall. As Sheik stood and righted herself, she could feel bruises forming all over her body—bruises mixed with possible fractures, or worse. But at least she was still alive.

Her ears were ringing from the loudness of the crash, but after she stood and shook her head, she could distantly hear someone calling her.

"—eik! Sheik! Are you alright?"

Link's hand on her shoulder made her flinch for a moment—mostly from the pain of the crash—but she didn't pull away. "Did you figure out a way to destroy it?" she managed, voice strained as she tried to catch her breath.

Link shook his head, pressing the object into her arms. "It's no good. I got past the ice, but the metal won't budge."

Sheik sighed, gritting her teeth. "Well, I'm not going up there again, and I don't think it can fly again, anyways. So we've only got a few options, 'cause I'm not going to stay up here with this thing forever."

"Have you tried burning it?" Link asked, pressing the object into her hands. "I know you said you couldn't before, but—"

"Burning requires emotion," Sheik said, shaking her head. "I don't have enough strong emotions to fuel it."

He furrowed his brows and looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, the dragon seemed to be stirring.

Sheik followed his line of sight, muscles tensing as she saw it start to move again. She hadn't thought that it would _die_ , of course—she knew its physical form was bound to the object and as long as it was okay, the dragon probably would be, too. But she hadn't expected it to recover so quickly.

However, as it sat up and seemed to be struggling for breath, Sheik got the first inklings of an idea.

Even though she'd sworn she wouldn't get back on the dragon, she hurried back up to it, using the rope around its neck to direct its head. It protested the movement, but the fall had weakened it significantly and it couldn't help but move its head in the direction Sheik was forcing it.

"Put the box on the ground," Sheik said, "And reflect the light so I can see it."

Link furrowed his brows, but seemed to realize what she was suggesting. "Do you really think its own fire can destroy it?"

"If ice didn't work, and weapons didn't work, I think fire is the only thing that can actually destroy it." As Sheik was talking, the dragon slowly built up fire in its throat, and she roughly forced its head down. It wasn't easy to maneuver, but she didn't envy Link, either, who was forced to stand just across from it so she could see the object clearly enough to aim at it.

Finally, fire came pouring out of the dragon's mouth, and Sheik got a tighter grip around its neck to direct it easier.

As she burned it, Sheik couldn't help her relief as the object revealed itself, a clear sign of the weakening spell.

"Get back, I can see it now," she said, directing the fire to the metal box. It looked like nothing more than a simple jewelry box. Fitting enough for a dragon, she supposed, but certainly not worth all the trouble it had caused them. She directed the fire at it, forcing the dragon to keep aiming at it no matter how much it struggled.

Finally the box was burnt and rusted, the ice and fire working together to weather it beyond recognition.

The dragon's fire tapered out till there was nothing left, though, and Sheik realized with a start that it probably didn't have the strength to provide anymore.

Before she could worry too much about how else to destroy it, Link stepped forward and stabbed it with his sword.

In an instant, the dragon exploded into ash and light. As there was suddenly nothing but empty space under Sheik, she fell to the ground once the dragon disappeared from under her. Link sheathed his sword in an instant and ran up to her.

When he offered her a hand, she took it, roughly pulling herself up.

Before she could even regain her footing, though, the ground started to shake beneath them. Sheik's eyes widened. "We still don't have a way down," she said, heart pounding in her chest. "How are we going to get down in time?"

"I need you to trust me, Sheik," Link said. His voice was entirely too gentle for the situation at hand, and Sheik looked at him with more than a little alarm. "I can't promise you this will work, but it's worked every time for me in the past, okay?"

" _What's_ worked for you?"

Link managed a small smile before stepping closer to her and taking both her hands. "Farore isn't going to let me die, Sheik. And if you're right next to me, I'm pretty sure that protection extends to you, too."

" _What_ protection?!"

Though Sheik was understandably wary, she didn't back away when he stepped closer. Whatever 'protection' he was offering seemed to work in a very small proximity, and Sheik wasn't going to risk dying just because of her aversion to touch.

Not to mention Link was the only anchor she had as they crashed towards Hyrule, and she was still having trouble regaining her footing as the ground shook beneath her.

As they came closer to the ground—and goddesses above, Sheik could already see the horizon—she forced her eyes closed. If they were going to die, she didn't want to have to see it.

But just before they were supposed to land, all motion stopped. Instead of falling, it felt more like she and Link were floating.

Sheik opened her eyes in surprise, but all she could see was a flash of yellow and green before they started to fall once more.

This fall was much shorter, though by no means more graceful. Sheik and Link ended up in a heap on the ground, nothing more than a tangle of limbs. Though Sheik certainly wasn't fond of such a position, she was too surprised to be alive to protest.

Fortunately Link recovered much faster than she did.

He pried himself off the ground, then held out a hand for her. "You alright?" he asked, finally just lifting her from the ground when she didn't take his hand. "You used up a lot of magic earlier—do you need to rest?"

It took Sheik a moment to shake her head. Though she was certainly tired, it was shock that prevented her from speaking, not exhaustion.

Link looked her up and down, obviously concerned when she still didn't say anything. Seeing that he wouldn't be getting anything out of her for a while, he led her over to a bench outside of someone's home.

Everything seemed to have landed perfectly in place, save for the building they had just exited. Even it was mostly intact, though the area they'd been standing had an impact crater. Sheik didn't want to think of what that meant.

As she sat down, the burn from earlier brushed against the bench. Sheik hissed in pain, finally starting to come back to her senses.

"Hold on, I think I've got some red potion in my bag," he said, already working on digging it out. Sheik stared at him, gaze finally focusing as he pulled out a bottle and held it out for her. "Think you can drink it?"

Sheik looked at the bottle for a while. Now that she was coming out of shock, Sheik was starting to realize what had happened. Her expression hardened the longer she stared at the bottle, till finally she was outright glaring. "I don't know," Sheik finally managed, words lacking the venom she meant to put into them. "Does it have some kind of magical blessing from Farore that you're forgetting to mention?"

Link sighed and pressed it into her hands anyways. "Just drink it, Sheik. I can explain on the way back."

"Or you could explain now," she said. She sipped it slowly, making a face as she swallowed it. "Now would be better, actually, since I'm too tired to hurt you for lying to me."

"Lying?" Link shook his head, offended at the mere thought. "I didn't _lie_ to you, Sheik—"

"You didn't tell the truth, either." Only half aware of her hypocrisy, she stared him down, a glare hard on her face. "Either you've got Farore's Blessing, or magical powers you failed to tell me about, or a Triforce." Before he could answer, she added, "And I'm willing to bet it's the last one. Show me your hand."

Goddesses, how could she have been so stupid? He almost _always_ wore gloves, even when they were sparring!

And yet, as Link pulled off his gloves, Sheik saw no marks on either of his hands.

She furrowed her brows, narrowing her eyes at him. "What's going on, then, if you don't have it? What happened back there?"

Link sighed, finally taking a seat next to her. "Did it never occur to you," he said, "That it was strange for the king to hire someone like me?"

"Like _you_?" Sheik asked. "I mean, you're young, but—"

"You've heard enough about Ecchar and Ravio and… and Hilda," Link said, shaking his head. "I wasn't… always on the right side of the law." He bit his lip, for the first time looking uncertain about speaking. But he took a slow breath then seemed to find his courage, voice a little stronger when he continued. "Last time Ravio saw me, I almost died. By all accounts, I should have. He got me to Telma's while I still had a chance at living, but I'm lucky he was gone before I…"

He hesitated, and Sheik had to try hard not to push him for details.

"I knew I was about to die," Link said. "I'd accepted it. But for some reason or another, Farore decided she wanted me and gave me another chance."

"So you got a miracle," Sheik said, voice flat as she looked him over. "Doesn't explain why you risked my life just because you didn't die before—"

"Sheik, it's not the only time it's happened." Link reached for her hand, but Sheik pulled out of his grasp before he could touch her again. Hurt flashed across his face, but he accepted her reaction with a sigh. "By this point, I know there's _something_ I have to do, and I'm willing to bet it has to do with Princess Zelda. That's why Telma got me to Castle Town once I was well enough—so I could figure out what I'm supposed to do with… With my part of the Triforce."

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line, unwilling to show even the slightest hint of emotion.

Link didn't look happy about her reaction, but took her silence as permission to continue. "I have the Triforce of Courage," he finally said. "You can't see the mark on me right now because it's being concealed—just like it has been for the past few years. It would show itself, normally, but it has its own power source… and if that power is tapped into just right, it can be used to hide the mark."

"Then why the gloves," Sheik said. "And why try to hide it at all?"

"It only spares that energy as long as it isn't being used for anything else. I'm no good at using magic 'cause I've never been trained, but it acts on its own if it's to save my life." He slipped his gloves back on, eyes trained on the ground. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Sheik. This isn't exactly how I wanted to tell you."

"Oh, so you did plan on telling me _at some point_ ," Sheik said, a somewhat bitter tone creeping into her voice. "What a relief."

"Look, the people who took over the castle are looking for _anyone_ with a Triforce," Link said. "That's why they're searching for the Princess. If they found the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom, then they'd have all three parts."

"All three?"

Link nodded. "The one who took over the castle already has the Triforce of Power," he said. "That's why the King sent me after his daughter."

"How are you so sure she even _has_ the Triforce of Wisdom?" Sheik asked. Thinking back to the lie she'd told him, she added, "The Zelda I knew didn't have any marks on her, and I think I would have noticed if Impa ever mentioned it—"

"You really think they wouldn't have concealed hers, too?" Link raised a brow. "I wasn't the one to lay the concealment charm. Some old lady Sheikah did it. She usually lives up in the mountains, but she came down at the King's request. I'm willing to bet she concealed the Princess's, too, back when she still lived at the Castle. If her life has ever been in danger with no other solution, it's probably already revealed itself to her."

Sheik's stomach twisted at the thought of having some strange, dormant power within her. …But then again, she couldn't remember a time that she'd nearly died. She'd been on the run most of her life, but she always stayed several steps ahead of her pursuers and tended to keep herself safe. The last few weeks were probably the first time in her life that she'd ever actively sought out dangerous situations. "…And what if it hasn't?"

Link shrugged. "Then she probably doesn't even know. Probably for the best, really—the fewer that know about the Triforces, the better."

Sheik's mind reeled, but she forced herself to stay calm externally. It wasn't worth revealing herself—not yet. Maybe someday, maybe if there was dire need, like Link revealing his secret only as they were plummeting to their death.

But not yet.

"Were you planning to tell me this even when we were up in the basement?" Sheik asked. "Or were you hoping I wouldn't notice?"

"I knew the risks," Link said. "I didn't want to tell you yet because I thought you'd react like this. But no secret is worth dying for." At her silence, he let out a sigh then stood in front of her, arms crossed over his chest. Despite his posture and the look on his face, when Link spoke again, his voice was strangely vulnerable. "…I understand if you don't want to be partners anymore," he said. "But we're both still looking for Zelda, aren't we?"

Sheik closed her eyes, weighing the cost.

Though Link had lied to her, she'd be a hypocrite in the worst way if she abandoned him now. Not to mention their teamwork at Ecchar and the past two cities, and how much more dangerous Hyrule had gotten just in the past few weeks. The risks were too great to part ways now.

…And even if Farore wouldn't let Link die, anyways, Sheik still hadn't saved him on their first meeting just to abandon him now.

"I'm still not happy with you," she finally said, "But I can't say I don't understand why you hid it. I wasn't honest with you till recently, either, so I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I left you just because you didn't tell me the truth from the start."

Thoughts of her lie made guilt sink lower in her stomach—especially since now Link was being completely honest with her. But how could she tell him her secret now? It was entirely too risky, especially since now she knew the power he possessed.

Link's smile just made her guilt worse, but at least he seemed to believe her. "Thank you," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "—And I think it goes without saying that this has to stay a secret?"

"What do you take me for?"

"Just double-checking," Link said. He reached for her hand once more, taking it before she could pull away. "Thank you for trusting me back there. I would've hated it if you died when I could save you."

Sheik looked away, face burning at the gentle touch and the genuine emotion in his voice. "I would've hated it if I died when you could save me, too," she muttered, looking away. Before Link could say anything else so frustratingly sweet, Sheik stood, body still quite sore despite the red potion. But at least the burn seemed to be healing, and the bruises were a little less painful. "…We should get back on the road. I bet the horses aren't happy about being left alone for so long."

Link nodded, standing up after her. "You'll be alright on horseback?"

Though Sheik was certainly tired, she wasn't exhausted enough to fall asleep on horseback like she had after Oxon. And by now, the bruises were probably healed enough that she wouldn't be in constant pain. …She was fairly sure, at least.

"I'll only know once I'm riding again," she said. "Now come on. We should try to get as close to Marr as we can before it gets dark."

As the sun was already fairly low in the horizon, Sheik doubted they'd make it very far before they had to stop. But for that, she was grateful. Much as she would have appreciated a bed for the night, she knew she could only last for so long before she fell asleep. For the sake of her pride, she'd prefer it if she fell asleep _after_ she was off her horse.

* * *

When night finally came, Sheik was too tired to spar. Though she wanted to make sure Link slept well, as per their routine, Sheik's eyes were bleary as she set up her sleeping mat and blankets. Link seemed to feel the same, looking more tired than she'd seen him in days.

Whether or not the Triforce ran on life energy, Sheik couldn't help but wonder. Surely it required an awful lot of energy to save someone's life?

Maybe it was because she was too tired to be as stoic as she normally was, or maybe it was because the depth of Link's confession was just getting through to her, but Sheik knew she wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably without talking to him.

"Hey," she said, propping herself on her forearms so she could look at him. "Will you be alright?"

Link sat back onto his elbows, tired eyes squinting against the campfire. "Why do you ask?" he asked, a yawn breaking his last word. "I'm fine. You're the one that took down the dragon—I oughta be asking you that."

Sheik frowned a little, looking at him by the fire's glow. "But you're the one who kept us alive on the way down," she said. "There's not any… lingering effects of that power or anything, is there?"

"Sheik, I'm fine," he said, sitting all the way up to get a better look at her. "Might not get the best sleep tonight, but I can deal with that in the morning."

"Do you always get such little sleep after your Triforce uses its power?"

Link shrugged. "I wouldn't say it's just the Triforce." It was too dark to see his expression, but Sheik didn't miss the way he hugged his knees. Before Sheik could think to ask him anything else, Link looked back up at her and attempted to smile. "It was pretty brave of you, you know, going up on that dragon. Kind of wondering if you ought to have the Triforce of Courage instead."

Sheik gave him a flat look. "It just seemed like the best option at the time," she said. "That's all."

"Still." He yawned again, his normally wide eyes half concealed by drooping eyelids. "I'm glad you survived it."

Sheik nodded. "I'm… grateful I survived it, too. And that you finished off the jewelry box before the dragon started to recover." She hesitated, stomach twisting as she remembered how certain of himself he had seemed when he saved her back at Tal. Though she tried to resist asking, Sheik couldn't help herself. "…How did you know I would trust you?"

Link looked at her for a while, an unreadable expression in his eyes. But before he answered her, he just shook his head, a small smile on his face instead. "It's pretty late, Sheik," he said, voice soft. "You should really get some rest."

Though her people skills weren't the greatest, Sheik knew the end of a conversation when she heard it. As much as she wanted to know what he meant, she couldn't find it in her to press the issue.

"Goodnight, Link," she finally said. "Try to get a good night's sleep."

Link nodded, but even when Sheik laid back down onto her sleeping mat, he didn't follow suit.

Sheik, too tired to stay up for much longer, was asleep before she ever even heard him lie back down.

* * *

 **((Hopefully I included enough of a buildup to Link's story that it didn't come as a** _ **complete**_ **shock. After all, it is strange for an ex criminal to be hired as one of the king's men in the search for the princess, so it would have to be something** _ **pretty**_ **convincing (like, say, a Triforce) to get the king to put this young (15ish at the time), inexperienced, ex-criminal in charge of finding his daughter. Plus this also explains some of the things about, like, "why was he completely unarmed those times when Sheik saved him, why is he so willing to put himself in danger," etc. If you have questions, though, please feel free to ask in a review! As always, I greatly appreciate your feedback, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who reviews! You're all wonderful!**

 **As always, if you liked this chapter, and even if you didn't, please leave a review to tell me so! See you next chapter!))**


	18. Chapter 18

**((A lot of you have expressed worries and concerns for Link having the Triforce of Courage in this fic, so before you start to worry, your question will either be answered in this chapter, or in the ending notes. If you're super concerned, you can skip down there really quick before reading the chapter. But, either way—Happy reading!))**

* * *

Early in the morning as they set out for Marr, Sheik couldn't get Link's secret out of her mind. She'd folded and refolded her blankets at least three times, but she was too wound up and distracted that even on her fourth attempt, it ended up a jumbled mess.

Finally she just rolled it up and stuck it in a bigger bag, rearranging her underthings to accommodate the bulk of the blanket.

For once, Link was actually packed and ready before she was, but as she finished up loading her own things, she couldn't bring herself to put them on her horse yet.

Though the responsible part of her knew that they needed to get on the road, the analytical side of her wasn't willing to go anywhere until she'd solved this mystery. And after thinking back through every interaction she'd had with Link—and to an almost embarrassing degree of recollection—she finally put her finger on what was bothering her.

Because, although his story made sense for the most part, something didn't add up.

"Why did you laugh," she said, hardly looking at Link while she piled her things by Blossom, "On the way to Lon Lon Ranch?"

Link, distracted with tying the last of his bags to Bashful, looked curiously up at her. "Huh?"

"When I compared your green tunic to the Heroes of Legend," Sheik said. "You laughed, then told me not to insult the Goddesses' taste." She put her hands on her hips, summoning up as much authority as she could. "Why did you laugh if you have the Triforce of Courage?"

"Oh." Link scratched the back of his neck, looking more than a little embarrassed. "Um. I mean… I don't really think I'm cut out for being a legendary hero, that's all."

"But you have the Triforce of Courage." Sheik stared at him, wondering if he could really be that dense. "Of course you're our era's hero."

Link looked away, face turning a light pink. "That _sounds_ nice and all, but," he hesitated, still avoiding eye-contact. "I just… I doubt it's me, that's all. Besides, not all heroes had the Triforce of Courage, so, I mean—why couldn't I have it and _not_ be a legendary hero?"

Sheik's lips pressed into a deep frown. "Do you have something against being a hero?" she asked. "Because I understand if you do, but—"

"It's nothing like that," he said quickly. "I just… If Farore has something planned for me and wanted to give me the Triforce of Courage, fine. But…" Somehow, he looked more caught off-guard about this than he had been last night, when he was confessing to having the Triforce of Courage in the first place. "I'm happy to help out Hyrule as much as I can, but I really doubt I'm cut out for the whole… hero of _legend_ thing. Making a hero out of a farmhand like the last Hero is one thing, but…"

"Link." Sheik raised a brow, voice deadpan. "Humble beginnings are more common to the heroes than the Master Sword is."

"I know that," he said quickly, finally making eye-contact, though he didn't hold it for long. "I just—I don't know. I'll do what I can for Hyrule, but I'm not gonna go around calling myself some kind of hero. You have to _earn_ that title."

"And you don't think the Triforce of Courage is proof enough? Or going to Ecchar, and Oxon, and Tal?"

Link shifted behind his horse, its body blocking his face as he readjusted the saddle-bags. More than anything, it seemed that he was just hiding so he didn't have to look her in the eye. "There's a difference between being brave and being a _hero_ ," he said. "Being a hero is… different."

There was something worrying about Link's tone, but Sheik wasn't feeling particularly generous. "Just because you believe it doesn't make you right," she said, letting out an irritated sigh. Remembering Malon's parting words to him, though, she pressed her lips into a thin line. "So, now that I know, do I have permission to call you 'hero' or is that a title reserved for pretty ranch hands?"

"She only said that because of my tunic and because I was searching for the princess," Link said, startled and irritated enough to look up at her again. Though he certainly didn't look happy with her, at least there was some fire behind his eyes now. Sheik decided she liked him better that way.

Instead of arguing with him rationally though, Sheik shrugged, finally starting to load up Blossom. "Well, Triforce of Courage or not, if you don't want to be called a hero then maybe you shouldn't dress up in green and go on long quests to save maidens and princesses," she said, matter-of-fact. Despite catching a glance of Link's embarrassed, angry expression, Sheik didn't apologize. Instead, she finished loading her horse and hopped up in one fluid motion. As she turned her horse towards Marr, she glanced at Link, finding him still standing indignantly beside his horse. "Come on, we've got a job to do. Let's get going already."

"Sheik…" Link sighed, looking for a moment as if he wanted to say something more. But before Sheik could ask, he closed his mouth and shook his head, dropping the subject.

Despite Link's subdued behavior, he hopped up onto Bashful and rode up to her. Without another word between them, Sheik plotted a course for Marr and started on the way, Link just a bit further away from her than he usually was.

For some reason, the distance felt like a rejection.

* * *

When they arrived at Marr, daylight had just turned to evening, and their horses were tired from a hard day's riding. Even more than the horses, though, Sheik and Link were ready to stop riding for the day.

After paying to keep their horses at the city's gate, they ventured into the city.

Because Sheik had so rarely ventured into this province—preferring to stay north and west, rather than so far to the east—Sheik had only been to Marr once before, when she was quite young. Because she'd been so young, the city had seemed frightening and unfamiliar and new… and yet, coming back to it, it still gave off the same off-putting atmosphere.

Residents were skeptical and suspicious, staring down everyone who came into the city, and the business-owners were hardly better. Despite the stares, though, the city was almost silent. The few conversations that were happening on street-corners were quiet, either spoken softly or outright whispered, and when Sheik and Link came within earshot, the conversations abruptly stopped.

Sheik noticed all too late that she couldn't see a single woman her age. Worse than that, Sheik could feel eyes on her. And the further she went, the more stares she seemed to be attracting.

"Something's definitely going on here," Sheik said, leaning close to whisper in Link's ear. "I don't think it'll be easy to get information."

Link nodded, looking unnerved the further into the city they walked. "Stay close," he said, taking her hand. Though Sheik didn't appreciate the need for contact, his hand was warm in hers, and she couldn't fault him for being protective. "I don't like how some of them are looking at you."

Sheik adjusted her mask, pulling it up just a little higher on her face. Somehow, she had the feeling that she wouldn't be taking it off any time soon.

As they walked, Sheik couldn't help but compare the city to Ecchar. The mood was similar to it, that was for sure—but Ecchar had been so much more run-down, and the people had seemed much braver, much more willing to take action.

Whether or not the people of Ecchar had been successful in liberating the tunnels, Sheik didn't think the people of Marr would even be willing to try.

Sheik frowned, the suspicious stares starting to get to her. "Let's just—let's just find an inn," she finally said, pulse hurrying the longer they stayed out in the open. "We're almost in the middle of town—there's bound to be something, and I'm tired of carrying a pack."

Though she was sure Link saw through her words, he didn't correct her. Instead, he simply looked around, eyes sharp as he searched for an inn.

"There," he said, gesturing for one with a rusted 'Open' sign. Nothing fancy, but with their budget—after having to rent horses from Malon—Sheik knew they couldn't afford to be picky. "Seem alright to you?"

Though Sheik was unsettled by the town, and the Inn didn't ease her worries any, she nodded all the same. The sooner they got inside, the better.

However, even as they got inside, the atmosphere was dark and grim. Sheik slowed her breathing to calm herself, but the unsettled feeling remained. Something wasn't right here—but then, there wasn't much else they could do unless they wanted to sleep outside.

Link, to Sheik's eternal gratitude, bought their room. He used 'he' pronouns for Sheik to the clerk, too, which made Sheik feel loads more at ease. Though she usually tried to assert herself as male, it was always more helpful to have someone else backing up her disguise.

That didn't mean there weren't still stares from the people in the lobby, though. Sheik pulled her mask up closer, more than a little.

Because of the unexpected expense with the horses, they'd agreed earlier to try and save money. So when she heard Link ask about the prices and, after some debate, choose a single bed, she didn't protest. Sheik wasn't exactly happy about sharing a bed, but they didn't have much of a choice—especially since they didn't know how long they'd be staying in Marr.

So Link finished paying and Sheik tried not to grimace at the raised eyebrows directed their way as they headed up the stairs. Some probably thought they were a strange couple, some probably wondered what a Sheikah and a knight were even doing in a town like Marr. Whatever the reason, it made Sheik's skin crawl, and she self-consciously checked her eye glamour.

As bad as it would be to reveal herself at all, it'd be far worse in this town.

Once they made it up to their room, they both hurried through the door and bolted it shut.

Link hopped onto the bed, lying back with a deep sigh. "I'm not looking forward to figuring out this town," he confessed after a moment, voice betraying his exhaustion. "It won't be nearly as easy to figure out as Ecchar, that's for sure."

Sheik nodded, dropping her stuff on the ground, too tired to bother with arranging it yet. "We got lucky in Ecchar, overhearing Coro like that. I don't think we'll be as lucky here."

"And it's not like we can just…" Link sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not like we can just march up to someone and ask for information. I just wish we knew how to make people trust us here…"

Sheik pressed her lips together in concentration, hoping to remember some detail from her childhood exploration of Marr. It had been so long ago, and the city was so different—Sheik wasn't sure any information she remembered would even be useful.

However, she did remember that even long ago, the city was a bit quieter than other ones she remembered visiting.

But, despite all the secrecy of most townspeople, there were a few places in town that were loud even into the evening and late at night.

"Taverns," Sheik finally said, not liking the word even as she said it aloud. Though she tried not to think about them too much, taverns reminded her of Ecchar now, and of getting dragged down a long passageway and praying to any deity that would hear her that Link came soon. "Taverns are usually rowdy, and if someone's drunk, they're more likely to give away information."

Link didn't look happy about it, but after a moment, he nodded. "It's worth a shot. When do you want to go?"

Sheik glanced out the window. It was still light out, though the sun had set below the horizon some minutes ago. "Taverns tend not to get busy until later—and if we're looking for information, we ought to go late at night. I'd rather not be there for longer than we have to be."

That said, she started taking off her mask and outerwear, biting back a yawn. If they weren't heading out for a few more hours, there was nothing holding her back from taking either a quick bath or a nap. Though they'd had a brief respite at Lon Lon Ranch, it had still been a long past few weeks, and Sheik was ready to go back to bathing every day and going to bed with muscles that weren't sore from riding.

"If you need me," she said, unbraiding her hair, "I'll be in the bath."

Link didn't get up. Instead he just waved a hand, already working on stripping down to his under-clothes. "That's fine," he said. "Just don't take forever—I want one, too."

Sheik made no promises. Still, he looked tired and he was likely as sore as she was, so even as she started the overly warm water and settled into it, she didn't plan on wasting too much time.

* * *

When Sheik came out of the bath, re-dressed and ready for a nap, she wasn't surprised to find Link already dead asleep.

Despite his sleep, though, she kept her expression unreadable, unwilling to let anything show through her carefully constructed mask of disinterest.

Upon getting closer, Sheik's first thought was that he wasn't nearly as peaceful in sleep as he should have been. Because their camp sites were always dark, and Link was often awake after her when they shared a room, it wasn't often that she could actually see him while he slept.

There was a crease between his brows that wasn't normally there when he was awake—though she recognized it from the times they faced danger together.

He worried enough for the both of them—he didn't need to look worried while he was sleeping, too.

Sheik sat down on the other side of the bed, gently reaching over and shaking his shoulder. "Link," she said, trying to ignore the way he jolted when he first woke. "You wanted to take a bath?"

It seemed to take a moment for him to fully come to, but once he did, he propped himself up onto his elbows and greeted her with a smile. "Hey. Thought I'd get a quick nap before we head out later tonight."

"Probably a good idea," Sheik said, glancing at the unoccupied half of the bed. She wasn't sure when they'd head out to a tavern that night, but it still wouldn't be for at least another few hours. Plenty of time to sleep. "Take your time. We won't be heading out till it's late."

He nodded, getting out of bed.

Though Sheik tried not to, she watched him as he left, eyes trained on his back. Even as he slipped behind the closed door and started the water, Sheik stared after the space he'd once occupied. Finally, though, she settled down onto the cold side of the bed.

Link hadn't done anything wrong, she knew—he couldn't help the expressions he made when he slept.

So why did she feel so frustrated with him?

* * *

Sheik wasn't aware of falling asleep, but she was aware—in a distant, only half-awake way—of someone settling down behind her. The bed was big enough that they didn't have to touch—especially since she'd laid down as close to the edge as she could manage—and Link seemed to respect that, lying down on as far away from her as he could. Still, the motion of someone lying down behind her was destined to wake her.

"Sorry," Link breathed, voice hardly loud enough to be heard even in the quiet room they occupied. Sheik, not wanting him to feel bad for unavoidably waking her, didn't move a muscle or give any indication that she was awake.

And, because she was turned towards the wall rather than towards him, he didn't notice her open eyes. So after some hesitation, he settled back down onto his side and pulled the blankets over him.

Sheik didn't budge, staring holes into the wall across her. Link slowly settled down, but every time she thought he was finally falling asleep, he shifted.

At this rate, he wouldn't get any sleep with all his tossing and turning.

Finally Sheik could take no more and rolled over, training her eyes on him in the darkness.

She couldn't make out his face very well in the darkness of the room, but she could practically feel his embarrassment.

"Sheik," he said, voice halfway to panic. "I didn't—Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," she said. Propping herself up on one elbow, she watched him, slowly making out his features in the dark. "…Can't sleep?"

"I, um…" Link bit his lip. "Not really, no."

Sheik hummed. It wouldn't do either of them any good if neither of them slept, so she was half tempted to ignore him and focus on getting some rest. But, try as she might, she didn't feel right going back to sleep if he was lying awake behind her. "Any reason you can't fall asleep?"

Link looked at her for a long while, indecision clear on his face. What he was uncertain about, Sheik couldn't tell, but he seemed to be holding something back. Finally, though, he just shook his head. "Nothing in particular."

It felt a like a lie. Sheik looked closer at him, noticing his averted eyes and guilty frown.

But she'd had enough of having truth withheld from her, even if she was guilty of just as much or more. So she pulled her lips into a frown and settled a little closer—just a little—so she could see him better.

"Does it…" She hesitated, reaching a hand forward to take Link's left one, tracing her thumb over where the symbol of the Triforce was concealed. "…Have anything to do with this?"

He didn't look at her. Sheik took it as a yes, or as good as a yes.

Sheik gently traced her thumb over the long-calloused hand, brows furrowed in concentration. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Link shook his head. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's your story to tell, not mine to pry out of you." There was the faintest temptation to kiss the hand she was holding, but Sheik resisted. Not wanting that temptation to resurface, she released his hand. "I'm sorry for—for pushing you, earlier. At Tal."

Link finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes with a curious look. "It was a normal reaction. To be honest, I was expecting worse."

Sheik raised a brow. "Worse?"

"Thought you might just up and leave." He bit his lip. "…Did you want to, before you decided not to?"

There was a certain vulnerability to his voice, and Sheik knew that no matter what she answered, it would be important. No matter what she wanted to say to soothe him, though, she didn't want to lie to him. She'd told him enough lies.

With a rare gentleness, Sheik lowered her voice to soft words rather than the normal, albeit quiet speaking voice she'd been using. "I thought I might have to," she admitted. "I didn't want to stay partners with someone who'd lie to me." Seeing his face fall, though, she only paused for a moment before continuing. "But I lied to you, too, earlier. About who I was, about not knowing Zelda. You stayed with me even though _I'd_ lied—so of course I had to stay with you when you finally told me the truth."

Though his face didn't exactly light up at her words, he looked at least a little relieved. "I guess it makes sense when you put it that way."

Sheik hummed. The words were just on the tip of her tongue, and though she wanted to say them, her mind was trying to prevent her. "That, and…"

That, and he was a good teammate.

That, and he had unflinchingly stayed beside her even when she was icy and even downright rude to him.

That, and he was a genuinely kind person to both her and everyone around her.

That, and he cared for her and tried to help her even when she pushed him away.

That, and—

"And?"

Link's prompting made her realize just how long she'd hesitated after speaking. "You're a good friend," she finally finished. "I haven't… had much experience, but… I'm…" She let out a frustrated sigh through her nose, tempted to just roll over and tell him to forget it. "I'm glad that you chose to come with me."

"Forced you to take me with you, more like it," Link said, lips pulling into a small—guilty—smile.

Realization suddenly struck Sheik, and disbelief rose up in her. "You weren't even in contact with the king, but you threatened me with telling him?"

Link's smile became a little smaller at that, and infinitely more sheepish. "Um…"

"I'm going back to sleep," Sheik said, then rolled over and attempted to do just that. Link actually _laughed_. Remembering why she'd stayed up in the first place, her voice lowered to a grumble, only mildly irritated. " _You_ ought to be sleeping, too."

Though she couldn't see him, she heard and felt Link move behind her, as if trying to shift closer to her. "Come on, don't be like that…"

"We only have a few hours to sleep before it's time to head to the tavern," Sheik said. "And I'm not sure about you, but I'd like to be _awake_ while we're eavesdropping."

Link sighed, but she knew him well enough now to know that his mood hadn't actually lowered. "Fine," he said, lying back down. "But I make no promises of actually falling back asleep."

Because he normally slept on his stomach, he finally moved the pillow under his face away from him so he could lie down more comfortably. As it was, though, it ended up lying by Sheik's feet—much too warm on top of her.

Without thinking about it, Sheik moved the pillow from her feet. She didn't toss it back at Link or onto the floor, though. She simply hugged it to her chest, holding the softness in her arms.

If Link noticed or cared, he didn't mention it, but after Sheik had settled back down with it, she could have sworn she heard a soft laugh behind her, as breathy and as quiet as a sigh. Face turned away from him, Sheik did nothing to hide her furrowed brows or embarrassed frown. But tossing it aside now that she had it would only draw more attention it, and…

It was rather nice having something soft to hold.

So she cradled it to her chest and closed her eyes, focusing only on sleeping, and the softness in her arms, and the steady, even breaths behind her.

Sheik fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

When she woke, only two hours had passed, if that. The moon was high in the sky, and the stars shined brightly, illuminating the room through the window. If they wanted to get information tonight, they'd have to act fast.

So Sheik sat up, turning to face Link, who was still fast asleep on the other side of the bed.

There was a strange pang in her heart at the thought of waking him, but she tried not to pay it much mind. Instead, she merely reached a hand towards him and gently shook his shoulder.

She tried not to notice how his face, yet again, was scrunched up in a worried expression.

This time, she didn't dwell on it. "Link," she said. "It's time to go."

Link cracked open one eye. "How late is it?"

"Does it matter?" She stood up, running a hand back through her hair. She'd have to re-braid it, she realized with a frown. It was a tangled mess now—not like _that_ was anything new—and she wasn't looking forward to coming through it. Absentmindedly, she combed her fingers through it, already working on separating the worst of the tangles.

When she looked back at Link, he was staring at her. Once she made eye-contact though, he looked away, quickly getting up and fully re-dressing.

Now that Link was up, Sheik got to work on getting fully re-dressed, sliding her Sheikah ensemble on over the training clothes she'd slept in. She didn't have enough time to fully sort out the mess that was her hair, instead just quickly braiding it, tangles and all.

Link didn't comment on her appearance. Instead, he almost seemed to be avoiding eye-contact, focusing on making sure he had his things with him.

"Don't take your sword or shield," Sheik advised, already stocking knives in pouches under her armor. "I have some knives you can use, if you can conceal them. But taking visible weapons would just make people suspicious of us."

"You'd really lend me some of your knives?"

"Obviously." Sheik passed him one, looking him over. "Probably would work in your boot. Keep it in its pouch, though. I'd rather your ankle not get cut open."

"Noted," Link said, a small smile on his face as he took the knife—pouch and all—and slid it into his boot. He shifted his ankle around, clearly trying to adjust to the change. "How can you carry so many of these on you?"

Sheik shrugged, finishing storing the last few. "You get used to it eventually. Hopefully you won't even need it." Looking him over again, she frowned a little, a question on her lips. "Do you even know how to use a dagger?"

"Yeah. It's been a while, but…" He managed an uncomfortable smile. "Never had to actually cut with it, but I know how if I ever need to."

Deciding that it probably wasn't the best idea to ask, Sheik just nodded and threw a cloak over her ensemble. It was chilly outside, and unlike Link's tunic and warm underthings, Sheik only had a thin suit and armor atop it.

Weapons fully concealed, they left the safety of their room, locking the door behind them.

Sheik prayed that they would find good information that night. She didn't want to stay in Marr any longer than they absolutely had to. Though she'd only spent a short time in the city, Sheik had already grown weary of all the stares she received.

But, though she was worried, with Link by her side, it was bearable.

As they walked, he reached for her hand, and Sheik didn't pull away.

* * *

After such a negative experience in Ecchar, Sheik was somewhat wary when they walked into a seedy tavern on the other side of town. They'd chosen it intentionally, of course, because the more run-down the tavern was, the more likely it was to be frequented by criminals. And the more criminals they were near, the more information they were likely to pick up.

That didn't mean Sheik had to _like_ it.

She'd been to her fair share of taverns, but there was something different about entering one and purposefully seeking out evil.

When she saw that Link looked about as worried as she was feeling, Sheik wasn't sure whether to feel more or less anxious. Still, such an expression didn't belong on Link's face (even if it was rather frequent). Before they got inside, Sheik pulled him aside, leaning in close to whisper in his ear.

"It'll be fine," she said softly. "We'll stick together while we're in here. Don't worry so much."

"Easy for you to say," Link said. "I've only been to two taverns in my life, and one of them belonged to Telma."

"And you practically live there. Obviously you know how to act in a tavern," she said. "Just don't draw attention to yourself."

Link fixed her with an unimpressed stare. "I'm here with _you_ ," he said. "How could I possibly avoid drawing attention to myself when I'm here with a Sheikah in full costume?"

Sheik rolled her eyes. "We're not that rare. I doubt anyone will even notice."

Her partner didn't look convinced, but they didn't have time to waste. Sheik pushed the doors open without another word, calmly walking forward and scoping the room in her peripherals. To her relief, no one stared for too long at them—or at least no more so than customers usually stared at people who walked through the door.

The tavern was packed, too, so any disturbance that they might have caused was quickly overshadowed by people going back to their parties, and by other customers coming through the door after them.

Sheik scanned the room for an empty booth, finally spotting one in-between a group of shady looking people. Fortunately it was one of the only booths, which meant that no one would wonder why they'd chosen such a vulnerable position.

Once they were situated, Sheik leaned over the table to whisper to him. "I'll get us some drinks," she said. "Anything you have in mind?"

Link looked up, nervousness clear on his face. "Um. I'll just—I'll have whatever you're having."

Though she wondered why he looked so worried now that they were already inside, Sheik didn't question him. "I'll be right back," she promised, trying not to look at the burly, somewhat frightening men lining the booths around them.

Sheik returned only a few minutes later with drinks, grateful that Link was right where she'd left him, and that no one seemed to have taken notice of him.

She set a single pint of ale in front of him, keeping one for herself as she slid in across from him.

"Hear anything?" she said softly, making eye-contact but looking nowhere else. When he shook his head, she quirked her lips into a frown. "Damn…"

A few minutes passed in relative silence, and Sheik slowly but surely worked at her drink. The last thing she wanted was to get drunk while she was trying to investigate, but it would be too suspicious if they went to a tavern and didn't drink.

That in mind, though, she furrowed her brows when she realized just how little Link had drank.

It struck Sheik, suddenly, that she'd never seen Link drink anything alcoholic while staying at Telma's. Her lips quirked up into a slightly smug smile. "Your drink alright?" she asked, glancing down at the mostly-full glass.

Link sat up straighter. "Oh! Um, yeah. I just," he started, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I just don't want to overdo it."

Sheik didn't protest. It was probably for the best that her partner _didn't_ end up wobbly and loose-lipped. As interesting as it might be to see—and Sheik cursed as she realized that she _wanted_ to, someday—she pushed the thought out of her mind. "I'll slide some of my glasses your way when I finish them, then," she said, a slight smile as she finished her glass.

* * *

True to her word, Sheik made sure to pass some of her glasses towards Link, but she wasn't planning on drinking herself into a stupor, either. And as over two hours passed with only meaningless conversations around them, Sheik was beginning to worry.

Was this the wrong place? By all odds, they'd made the best choice they knew to make by coming here, and yet, nothing.

The conversations hardly even touched on the missing girls, let alone where they were being hidden. Sheik sighed, lips pulling into a frown.

She'd stopped counting which glasses were hers and which were Link's, but if she had much more (high tolerance or not), she knew she wouldn't be in fighting shape if things went south. Still, she stood up anyways and turned towards the bar's main counter.

"I'm going to find something non-alcoholic," she said. "For the both of us."

Link rested his head against his hand, elbow propped up on the table like it had been for the past hour. "Take your time," he said. "Not like you're missing anything."

As Sheik approached the bartender for what must have been the fifth time that night, he greeted her with a smile. Though they'd hardly exchanged more than drink orders, the tall, burly, red-headed man acted almost familiar with her when she came up to him.

"You know," he said, "Just because you keep buying him drinks doesn't mean he's going to go home with you."

Sheik blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Take it from a pro," he said, smile widening. "You see the way he's sitting? He's bored. Either it's you, or it's the scenery, but buying him even more drinks isn't gonna help you—especially since you're gonna end up way more drunk than he is, at the rate you're going." Seeing her blank stare, he explained, "Well, you can't woo him if you're drunk, can you? Best to stop while you're ahead, yeah? Take it from Groose, here—I've seen enough drunken confessions to last a lifetime."

The words refused to process properly in her head. Yet, when they finally did, Sheik understood that this man— _Groose_ , apparently—believed that she and Link were on a date. And why wouldn't he, really? They'd come together late at night and hadn't talked to anyone else, and had drank enough between them that if they weren't dating, they were still close enough to trust each other with lowered inhibitions.

But something about Groose's words agitated her. Maybe it was the assumption that she didn't know how to read people, and maybe it was the few (several) glasses of ale she'd consumed, but Sheik was having none of it. "I'm doing just fine _wooing_ him, thank you," she said, eyes hardening as she stared him down. Remembering what she came there for, she took a breath and tried to convince herself that it wasn't worth the argument. "And I'll take…"

She stared up at the board, biting the inside of her cheek. It occurred to her, suddenly, that she didn't actually know what Link wanted.

"…I'll take something sweet," she finally decided. "I don't care what it is, just make it non-alcoholic."

" _Sweet_ , huh," Groose said, looking her up and down. The idea that _she'd_ be ordering something sweet seemed to amuse him, and his lips settled into a slight smirk. "Something tells me this is for your, uh…?"

"Partner," Sheik answered. At the bartender's confusion, she looked away. "… _Romantic_ partner."

The bartender laughed. "You don't sound too sure there, Sheikah." He poured a mixture of something, and the drinks ended up green and blue, with pink gracing the very top. As he finished mixing them and she paid, though, he leaned in a little closer. "You'd best be careful with him, you know."

"Planning on it," she said, gritting her teeth as she reached for the glasses. "And mind your own business."

"Just saying, Sheikah," Groose said. "Marr's no place for a cute little thing like him—or you, either."

As much as it pained her, this bartender was probably the best lead they'd had all night. She looked at Link, forcing her face into something that didn't (fully) betray the anger she was feeling. "And why's that?"

The bartender looked at her with a raised brow. "Look, Sheikah. I'm sure wherever _you_ come from, it's safe enough that you don't have to worry every time you cross the street. But here in Marr? You'd better watch yourself, or you might just disappear, yeah?"

Sheik pressed her lips together into a firm line. "I'll take my chances," she bluffed, turning to walk away.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, leaning forward. "Look—I'm nor joking around here, alright? This isn't the place to hang around if you're strangers to the town. If you think your date is going bad now, it'll be much worse if one of you gets lifted."

"Lifted?" Sheik finally turned back towards him, narrowing her eyes. "Lifted how?"

If her sudden change in mood phased him, Groose gave no indication. "Lifted as in _stole_ , Sheikah. Lots of money offered to people who manage to snag a would-be princess. And you're not exactly playing it smart, wandering into a bar after dark, even if you are with someone else."

Sheik looked at the glasses in her hands, deeply considering whether or not to continue the conversation. But Groose was staring to look around at other people now, a wariness on his face that hadn't been there before.

Was he worried about being overheard?

Deciding it was best to end things there, Sheik backed away, drinks in hand. "I'll keep it in mind," she said, only catching a glimpse of his relieved smile before she turned and walked away.

After the worrisome conversation she'd just had, Sheik was relieved to see that Link was still right where she'd left him.

She quickened her pace as she walked back towards the table, nearly (but not quite) spilling the drinks in her hand. "Sorry," she said, sliding him one. "It took him a while to make it. But it's sweet, and it's not alcoholic."

Link leaned in a little closer to take his drink, but even when he'd taken hold of it, he didn't move backwards. Instead, he leaned in closer, till his lips were almost on her ear. "Hear anything interesting?" he said softly, breath warm against her ear.

Sheik didn't want to think about what the bartender might be assuming from such an interaction. "Bartender," she whispered. "Says Marr's not safe. I'll explain once we're out of here." Before he pulled away, though, she leaned in a little closer, lips brushing against the tip of his ear. "…Look embarrassed," she said. "He thinks we're dating."

When Link finally pulled away, there was an amused smile on his face, though she could see a tell-tale blush over his cheeks. Hopefully that'd suffice for 'embarrassed,' though Sheik had hoped he'd do a more convincing job of it. "Yeah?"

"And he thinks I'm doing a bad job at wooing you," she elaborated, refusing eye-contact. When Link's smile only grew—and she saw the way his hand came up to hide his laughter—an indignant frown crossed her lips. "I'm not, am I?"

"Absolutely not," Link said. Before Sheik could feel relieved, though, he added, "You're doing a _terrible_ job."

Sheik raised her glass to her lips, a glare meeting his gaze just over the rim. " _You're_ terrible," she countered. "And next time you can pay for your own drinks."

Link didn't even try to hide his laughter this time. But even though it was directed at her, Sheik couldn't stop her smile at the sound. "I'll pay you back once we get home, _sweetheart_."

As much as she wanted to fire back, the tavern was starting to quiet down, and Sheik wasn't keen on staying there when there was no new information to be had.

So she downed her drink rather quickly, grateful that Link seemed to be thinking the same.

Once she was finished, she put her cloak back on and stood, looking closely at the exit. As she and Link started towards it, though, Sheik saw some of the men in the booths around them get up, too.

Though she didn't feel any kind of magical signature from them, she trusted her instincts, and her instincts told her not to let her guard down. So she led Link quicker to the exit and hurried outside, feet picking up pace as they left through the doors.

As soon as they got onto the sidewalk, the doors opened again, a small group of large men following them. "Hurry," Sheik said, voice urgent as she picked up the pace.

Soon, the footsteps behind them made it clear that her instincts were right. Link didn't question her; as soon as he heard the group behind them, he ran.

Sheik cursed her past self as she ran. Why hadn't she just left when Groose had mentioned something? But there was no sense dwelling on it. They couldn't change the past, and the longer she dwelled on it, the less focus she was putting on running.

"Sword and shield," Link suddenly said. "I want my sword and shield."

The longer they ran, they more they outdistanced the group following them—but it was late, and dark, and they'd both drank. Sheik wasn't sure how long they'd have a lead.

She looked around for some kind of an out, and finally, a plan began to form in her mind.

"Follow my lead," she said, then abruptly swerved into an alleyway. As soon as they turned, she kept a silencing spell on their feet, then grabbed his hand and vaulted the fence at the end of the alley.

From there, she climbed the first ladder she saw, going up, up, up, till finally they reached the roof.

The silencing spell held strong, but she knew they'd have to wait here for a while if they wanted to avoid being caught. By the time she and Link had laid down flat against the rooftop, the group had already caught up to the alley she and Link had run through. Not wanting to keep going blindly, Sheik raised her head just high enough to make out the group that had been following them.

With bated breath, she watched as they slowed to a stop.

"They must have gone into one of these side streets," a man's voice said, booming against the quiet of the night. "They couldn't have just disappeared."

"I don't hear anyone running," another said. "Maybe they went inside, somewhere."

"People of these streets know better than to let strangers into their homes." Someone hummed, suspicions. "Something fishy's going on. I don't like it."

As discussion continued amongst them, Sheik ducked her head back down, maintaining the silencing spell with all her strength. It would do them no good to stay there forever, though, so Sheik decided that they ought to make good of the diversion while they could, before they started searching the streets in earnest.

She crawled backwards then down the ladder, stretching the silencing spell to accompany Link until they were back together.

Once he was next to her, she dropped the spell just for long enough to lean down and whisper in his ear—her voice no louder than a breath. "Back to the inn."

Link nodded, then she restarted the spell and took off. This side street was almost entirely barren, which Sheik was grateful for. Not wanting to run into any of the men following them, they kept their path random and as far removed from main streets as they could manage.

When they finally came back to the inn they were staying at, it was nearly dawn.

"Think we have time to sleep?" Link asked, an almost joking tone to his voice as they hurried up the stairs. Though they'd slept some of the night, it hadn't been nearly enough, and somehow, Sheik doubted that they'd get to sleep before nightfall.

Not wanting to be overheard, Sheik waited till they were safely inside their room and had locked the door before replying. "We need to grab as many weapons as we can. I don't want to stay here even for one more night," she said. "I don't care what it takes—we're finding those girls and getting out of here."

Not one to waste time, Sheik threw a satchel over her shoulder and filled it with water and enough food to get them through the day. As she was searching through other useful materials, though, she saw some rope, and the beginnings of a plan started to form in her mind. Sheik grabbed as much rope as she could find, then got to work putting a few extra knives in her bag, just in case.

When she looked up at Link, he'd already strapped his shield to his arm and had his sword-belt around his shoulder. But, across his other shoulder and resting at his hip was a brown satchel that she hadn't seen him wear before. "Red potion," he explained. "There's too many ways this could go wrong, and I'm not taking any chances."

Though Link looked ready to go, Sheik hesitated.

"We need to have a plan," she said. "Even if it didn't go just how we wanted in Ecchar, we still had a plan."

"Yeah, because I knew the tunnels, Sheik," Link said. "I don't know the first thing about this place, and you don't, either. We're going to have to improvise."

Sheik shook her head. "People are still people, Link." At his confusion, she elaborated, "Those weren't magical beings chasing us. Those were regular people. And regular people—criminals or not—can be dealt with."

Unsure where Sheik was going with this, Link gave her a wary look. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I don't know how long they'll chase us for. For all I know, they've stopped already." She steeled her eyes, taking a long dagger from a pouch sewn into the armor of her outer thigh. "But people are willing to do anything to save their own skin—especially a group of people looking to kidnap young women."

Link wasn't stupid; Sheik knew he understood her implication. But she could see the hesitation in his eyes—an unwillingness, almost, to accept her idea. "You're planning on… on threatening them…? How do you even know _who_ to threaten, Sheik?"

"We can scope the streets for anyone who looks suspicions," Sheik said. "And if that doesn't work, we can always go back to the tavern. They'll probably be back tonight, if nothing else."

"Sheik…"

His hesitation set Sheik on edge, and she looked at him with eyes hard as steel. "What, do you have a better idea? People like this won't listen to reason, Link. Even if they might, I'm not willing to risk both our lives."

"You think I don't know that, Sheik?" Link looked away, letting out a long sigh. "I don't care if you _threaten_ them, Sheik—but these are _people_. Not monsters. That guard, back at Ecchar—he was a person. Even if he deserved to be put in jail, that doesn't make you his judge, jury, and executioner—"

"He didn't see me as a person anymore. He tried to _sell_ me, Link," Sheik said. "That's what they're all trying to do. They want to steal young girls and get paid for it. Anyone who does that isn't a _person_ anymore—even if they don't give off a magical signature, they're still a monster."

Link looked at her for a while, letting out a long breath. "All I'm saying," he finally said, "Is that if you threaten them, don't act on your threats. If they hurt you, by all means, defend yourself. But if you take them aside, and they're at your mercy and you hurt them… You're no better than them."

"I'll do what I need to do," Sheik said. "I don't care if you participate or not—but don't get in the way."

Something settled in Link's eyes, desperation showing a little deeper within them. He shook his head. "Sheik," he said, moving forward and grabbing hold of her upper arms. "Please, don't talk like that."

Sheik forced his hands off of her and stepped backwards. "I never said that I was actually _going_ to hurt them, Link," she said. "But they've already tried to hurt me before—both of us. If they try it again, I'm not going to go easy on them."

Link closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. "Okay," he finally said. "Just…"

"I won't make promises I can't keep. But I'm not going to go overboard unless I have to." With that, she walked past him, sliding her longest dagger underneath her armor. Though Link's sword and shield were obvious—and Sheik even had her katana at her back—it probably wouldn't be a good idea to show off just how many knives she was carrying.

Still, the time for a low profile had passed.

They needed to get through Marr as quickly as they could, and sneaking around unarmed wouldn't help them.

* * *

As it turned out, it didn't take long for the men to find them again.

While there didn't seem to be a formal search going on for them anymore, they were everywhere. And, fortunately for Sheik's purposes, they tended to travel alone.

Sheik was just glad that they spotted their target before he spotted them.

Not wanting that luck to run out, Sheik pulled Link behind a merchant's cart, ignoring the stares from the woman running the shop.

"Walk through the middle of the square and look natural," she said. At the worried look he gave her, Sheik tried to give him a reassuring smile. "I'll be right behind you. I won't let anything happen to you."

Though he still looked wary, Link didn't refuse.

With his heart clearly beating a mile a minute, Link stood to his full height and walked to the middle of the square. Though she wasn't sure just how _natural_ he was acting, he at least didn't look panicked.

In no time, a huge, burly man spotted Link from across the market. Sheik watched as he approached—from the casual way he walked, it was obvious he wasn't trying to make a scene, probably to avoid anyone coming to Link's rescue.

There was a glint of metal poking out of his long-sleeves, though, and Sheik knew she'd have to act a bit quicker than she'd thought if she wanted to keep Link safe.

So Sheik strode across the courtyard, arriving next to them just as soon as the man got up to Link.

Though he seemed surprised, he tried to play off his intentions by stepping out of the way and continuing across the courtyard. Sheik let him get past them, but not for long. As the man walked away, Sheik followed only a short distance behind him, with Link close on her heels.

The man turned into an alleyway, and now that they were finally out of the public eye, he turned on his heel and raised his voice at her.

"What do you _want_ , Sheikah? Stop following me already!"

In one fluid motion, Sheik was on him. She cast a silencing spell before she pulled a long dagger from her clothing and held it to the man's neck, ignoring the way his mouth opened in a silent scream. Maintaining the spell, she forced him deeper into the alleyway, then behind a dumpster, so no one could see them unless they entered the alley. As soon as they were completely hidden, she dropped the spell and leaned closer, eyes fixed in a deep glare. "You have information about the missing girls, don't you?"

"M-Missing girls?" he asked, and Sheik could practically see his heart pound against his ribcage. "Who are you—?"

"You know the stakes if you lie to me," she said, pressing the knife harder against his neck. It had left an indentation already, and some blood. If she pressed much harder, she might risk seriously hurting him—but she couldn't risk easing up now. "Tell me everything you know and I'll let you go."

The man's eyes widened, but he wasn't a complete coward. "I'm not telling you any—"

"Tell me where they are," Sheik said, eyes cold and cruel. "Any information you have about where they're being kept and how we can find them, and I'll let you go."

The man went abruptly silent for a while, unwilling to look her in the eye. Sheik didn't budge. At least a minute passed before finally, she heard a sigh behind her.

"Sheik," Link said, stepping forward. "Give him time to talk."

Sheik's lips set into a scowl, but she eased up just enough to let him breathe easier. "Tie him up," she told Link, then looked back towards the man. "You have a minute to give me something useful. Make it count."

Link didn't look happy about his role in this, but he took the rope from her bag anyways and tied the man's hands behind his back, then tied a section around his feet. With every passing moment, Sheik was becoming more agitated, more worried that someone would come.

Finally, though, she crouched in front of the man, eyes staring right into his once more.

He cracked soon after she got in his face.

"They're—they're not being kept here for long," he said, looking away from her. "They're outside the city limits. I think—people talk about it like it's a warehouse, but I don't know where it is!"

"Have you been there?" Sheik asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you know how to get there?"

The man shook his head, eyes wide with fear. "No—It's—I'm just the guy that—that takes the girls and hands them over to someone else."

At that, Sheik was tempted to plunge her knife into his neck anyways. But one look from Link and she steadied herself. "Okay," she said. "Who _does_ know?"

He gulped. "The—the people above me, but I don't know their names! Please don't kill me, I—"

Sheik slammed his head against the brick wall, knocking him out in an instant.

"He was out of information," Sheik explained.

Link didn't look impressed.

"He'll wake up eventually," Sheik said, not looking at Link again as she reached down and untied the man's feet. "…But we need to move quickly. Someone might have noticed his absence."

Not wanting to waste any time, Sheik hurried from the alleyway, Link close behind her. The only glimpse of his face she caught made him look almost sick, so she kept her face turned away from his.

There would be time to feel guilty later.

For now, they needed to focus on saving those girls.

* * *

In the end, it took three more interrogations before they found the site: an old, run-down warehouse several miles outside of Marr.

Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, they went on foot, leaving their horses back at Marr.

"You alright with this?" she asked Link. He still looked a little sick, and Sheik wasn't sure how to help him. More than anything, she needed him to be at the top of his game that night, and if he couldn't focus, then…

He shook his head. "No, but I'll—I'll figure it out."

Sheik set her eyes back on the warehouse, huge and looming in the distance. "Well then," she finally said. "We didn't come all this way for nothing. Come on."

With that in mind, she took a single step forward into the grassy field that separated them from the warehouse and the missing girls.

It was too late to turn back. All she could do was hope that this would be easier than Ecchar had been.

Somehow, she doubted it would be.

* * *

 **((Okay, so, in response to a lot of reviews I got for last chapter: Many of you are worried that I'm slowly turning this into an Ocarina of Time specific AU. Before I say anything else, I just want to assure you that I'm not. The actual Ocarina of Time will never make an appearance in this fic, and I wouldn't have included so many characters from other games if the storyline was just going to be Ocarina of Time. There's a** _ **lot**_ **of lore associated with OoT in this fic (mostly because of the Sheik dynamic), and I apologize if it made anyone nervous. But again, I assure you, I won't turn this into a revision or AU of that game.**

 **As for the worry that this is going to turn into 'too generic' of a Legend of Zelda fic, I hope you'll stick around long enough to see the plot develop further, because the climax and ending that I have planned (while still consistent with Legend of Zelda lore) are things, I hope, that will be unique to this fic. But please bear in mind that this is still a** _ **Legend of Zelda**_ **fanfiction. If I didn't love the lore and love the games, I wouldn't be writing this in the first place, so my goal is always to have something consistent with the canon lore, but with my own twist.**

 **That being said, this mixes a lot of lore from many different games—and** _ **because**_ **I try to remain faithful to the lore, certain things will unavoidably be mentioned and make an appearance. Like the Triforces. However, many of you have expressed concerns about the Triforce, specifically Link's Triforce.**

 **While I don't want to give away spoilers, I do want to reassure you of a few things.**

 **The Triforces have certain powers in this fic. I cannot explain these powers right now because that would be a** _ **huge**_ **spoiler, but rest assured, they aren't all-powerful. And just because Link** _ **believes**_ **he already understands his Triforce piece doesn't mean that he actually does.**

 **There were a few questions about Link being the Hero of Time, and I'd like to answer those now, before any more confusion settles in. Link is not the Hero of Time in this AU; that title is reserved for Link from the Ocarina of Time. Some Links never get titles, and those that do get titles don't usually have overlap. And as for whether or not he knows he's destined to be some kind of hero of legend… that will be answered in time.**

 **Hopefully most of your worries have been assuaged, but if not, I hope the coming chapter will put you more at ease as things start to develop.**

 **But no matter what, I really appreciate your feedback! Whether they're compliments or criticisms, I thank you all for telling me what you liked or disliked in the last chapter, and I hope you'll continue to tell me in chapters to come. So, whether you loved this chapter or hated it, or were somewhere in-between, please tell me what you thought in a review! See you next chapter!))**


	19. Chapter 19

The warehouse was bigger than Sheik thought it would be. But that was because, in their view from the outside, they hadn't noticed that the warehouse had a basement. Four basements, in fact. Each heavily guarded and patrolled regularly, with a mix of Hylian and monster guards.

"What is it with bad guys and hiding out underground?" Link whispered as they hid behind a crate. Though they tried to be stealthy, there was only so long they could spend scoping out the routes the guards took the most. "I mean, I get it, but why is it that they _all_ —?"

Sheik held a finger to her lips as one walked just a hair closer than they'd been expecting him to, based on his previous patrols. He came closer and closer, till finally he turned around and started walking the other way.

"I don't think they're walking on totally designated paths," she muttered. "The Hylians, anyways. The monsters don't seem to be deviating much."

Link let out a sigh as he accepted their fate. "We'll just have to go closer to the monsters, then, and follow their paths. I don't want everyone on this floor taking us on at once."

"Maybe…" Sheik looked at the alarm bells around the room, lips pursing into a frown as a plan started to form in her head. "If we block off their access to the alarms, then… Maybe…" Though it was risky, they could probably win in a fair fight against most of the people within the room. But that meant no one could leave the room or sound the alarms, which meant they'd have to somehow take every single person out and have no one escape…

Probably best for now just to sneak around. Though if they had to come back up later, she wasn't looking forward to sneaking around the guards again.

She supposed if they really needed to take out an entire floor, they'd figure out a way. And, if nothing else, maybe it'd be possible to seal the exits from the inside till they were finished with everyone on that floor.

Sheik filed that plan away for future use, then cleared her head so she could get back to the plan at hand.

"The one over there seems the least interested in what's going on around him, and his range is a lot smaller. I say we stay within his range for as long as we can," Link whispered. "I don't think he'd notice us at all."

Sheik nodded, glancing at the man. That meant they'd be going to the opposite side before they reached the door… But, she supposed it was better than getting caught.

"On three," Sheik said softly, bracing herself for the break they'd be making. They'd have to avoid every single guard who even glanced their direction, and dive for cover before anyone turned in their rounds.

They'd be relying on as much luck as skill—but though Sheik had little faith, she knew they had to make the best attempt they could. And, she reminded herself, even if they were seen, that didn't make it the end for them. It would just make their job an awful lot harder.

With that in mind, Sheik counted to three, then leapt out from behind the box they'd been hiding behind. They were only on the move for a few seconds before they ducked behind another box, just far enough out of the way that no one would see them if they poked their heads out.

From there, they made slow, careful moves from one hiding place to another, till finally they were near the exit.

Fortunately no one was watching the exit, as it was far enough away that it wasn't in anyone's direct line of sight—not to mention they were watching for _intruders_ , not for people already within the complex.

Sheik couldn't help her relief when they finally made it past the door. Together, they slipped through it and let it shut behind them with the faintest _click_.

That relief was very short lived. Only a few seconds passed before Sheik realized they weren't alone.

The guard, near them and looking their way, didn't miss a beat.

But Sheik didn't either.

Before he could open his mouth to call for backup, Sheik sprung forward and cupped her hand over his mouth. Link, immediately on the job as well, unwound some rope and tied him up, forcing him to stop his struggling.

The pair found a supply closet not far from there, and knocked him out before unceremoniously tossing him inside.

Aside from him, the hallway had been deserted, which was just fine with Sheik. She looked over it with a frown, trying to remember the floorplan from outside. However, an outside perspective was nothing compared to a map—and if they wanted to succeed with their rescue mission, then they needed to know where they were going.

"Link," she whispered, pulling him next to her. "We need to find a map of this place."

"Does it look like we can just ask someone for one?" Link asked, furrowing his brow. However, as he looked around, the beginnings of an idea started to form, evident by the look on his face. "…But maybe we could get a good view of the lower floors…"

"And how—?"

"The rafters," he said. "It's a warehouse, Sheik. Hyrule's terrible about not always finishing ceilings properly. I wouldn't be surprised if the main room had unfinished ceilings between each floor. Probably where they're keeping the girls, too."

Excitement shone in Sheik's eyes, just for a moment. As good of an idea as it was, rationality and worries made her hesitate. "And it's safe?"

A small smirk appeared on Link's face. "Well," he said, "Probably safer than trying to sneak around all those guards again."

"And what's the way to find the main room, exactly? Again, we don't exactly have a map."

Though Link hesitated for a moment, and when he answered her, he didn't suond too convinced. "We're on the top floor now, aren't we? I'm sure we'll find it eventually."

"And once we get there?"

Despite the worries in his eyes, Link didn't take back his suggestion. "Well, assuming we find it… If we make it onto the rafters of the top floor, then…"

"Then we'll be seen," Sheik cut in. "There's no getting around that one."

"Unless we take everyone out in that room."

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, but she didn't argue. "Alright," she said. "We'll just have to figure out a plan once we get there. We don't even know what we're up against, but—"

Link took hold of her hand. "But it'll be fine," he said, a small smile on his face. "We can handle this."

Though he was trying to be reassuring, Sheik wasn't convinced. Still, she gave his hand a light squeeze before letting go of it. "Still. No matter what happens to either of us, those girls are top priority."

Link nodded, though he didn't look happy about it. "I promise," he said, then looked at the door looming before them. "…Hopefully this'll lead to the main room so we can get it over with."

"…Don't get your hopes up, Link. Something tells me this is going to be a long day."

* * *

Sheik's pessimism didn't fail them.

A mapless maze of corridors greeted them, and countless guards and store-rooms and minor injuries came with the territory. Still, they kept a close eye on where they'd come and what doors they'd have to take to get back outside. Hours passed in search of the right room, and after so many failed tries, they were both about ready to turn back.

But finally, they arrived at the room that would allow them access to the rest of the warehouse.

"The girls are probably on one of the lower levels," Sheik reminded him, as if they hadn't gone over the plan a dozen times in the past few hours. As she looked into the room (and the four levels below it) though, her heart sunk as she realized how much time and energy it would take to even get to the girls, let alone bring them back up. But despite her pessimism, she didn't lose heart. "…So that means we have to take them back up through the upper levels. Probably by rope. "

"Should we…" Link bit the inside of his cheek. "…Should we try to fight as many as we can right now? I don't think we'll be able to sneak so many girls back up if there are still guards. This is dangerous enough for them as it is—we can't bring them up here if it's unsafe."

Sheik let out a long sigh as she considered their options. "We can use stealth," she decided. Seeing Link's skepticism, she added, "To surprise the guards, I mean. You're right—we have to get rid of them before we bring the girls back up."

Link nodded, looking a little relieved, though Sheik's own uncertainty was reflected in his eyes. "But no matter how we plan it, the surprise will only last for so long."

"Well, the rafters are interconnected, aren't they?" Sheik set her lips into a thin line. "I have a plan. We'll have to get pretty lucky, but… If we play our cards right, I think it'll work."

Though questions lingered in his eyes, Sheik watched as he started to understand just what she was implying. Link took a deep breath to steel himself, but soon enough, he took her hand. "Let's hope we get _really_ lucky, then."

* * *

The rafters were old and full of more splinters than Sheik could count. As they crawled, she was incredibly jealous of Link's fingerless gloves—at least it was only his fingertips that were full of wood rather than his entire hand.

For once, though, Sheik was grateful for the callouses all over her hands. Without them, the journey would have been far worse.

As they climbed, they depended solely on the hope that no one—not on the top layer, nor the layers under it—would look up. As stealthy as they tried to be, the rafters were still only slightly wider than they were—and anyone from the sides of the building would notice two people crawling along the rafters if they only looked up.

But, as luck would have it, they made it across with no interruptions.

Once they were in the rafters closest to the far corner, though—with a small, partially enclosed section which encased a few guards—they made their move.

Because there were three guards inside, Sheik's initial strike had to take out two (leaving the last, much larger one for Link), which meant she had to focus more on the guards than on a stealthy approach. Had she not cast a silencing spell, the strike would never have worked.

However, it did, and because they silenced the guards' cries and had been partially hidden from sight, they drew no attention from the other guards.

But even with these three out of the way, there were still about fifteen left on this floor alone… And not all of them were hidden from sight like this.

They'd have to block off the alarms and the exits and take care not to let any bodies drop to the next floor.

And if they wanted to avoid any shouts from one group to another, Sheik would have to use an awful lot of silencing spells. But though she hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, and though she'd already used a fair amount of magic, Sheik wasn't going to give up yet.

So together, she and Link disabled the alarms, then started to take guards down one by one.

There were seven left by the time they'd gotten rid of all the ones in enclosed spaces. Fortunately, most of the guards were in one area, with two on the opposite end.

Link set out to take down the few, mostly because he didn't have a silencing spell. He made short work of the Hylian and monster duo; the guards only had time to let out quick, abruptly silenced cries before Link was finished with them.

Because of that cry, though, the guards on Sheik's side were alerted to a disturbance.

And though it was exactly what they'd been trying to avoid, Sheik used it in her favor. While they were distracted, she set a silencing spell around them, grateful they'd clustered so close together. It didn't take long for them to be incapacitated or vanished—especially when Link joined her to help her finish them off.

Though the monsters left nothing to dispose of, the Hylian guards—either killed or knocked out, and the duo didn't have time to check—had to be taken care of. So they moved them into an abandoned closet and barred it shut.

From there, they repeated the process floor by floor.

It was a little more difficult each floor they went down. Sheik supposed they kept their best guards lower down, because the ones on the third and fourth floors were far more alert.

Still, despite the minor injuries she and Link were collecting, adrenaline and magic kept them going.

It wasn't until the last floor—the fifth floor—that the fight was really starting to take a toll on them. Still, they were so close to the end that Sheik could almost taste it. All they'd have to do was take care of the last set of guards then find a quick, easy way to get back to the top floor.

But as they finished the fourth and Sheik released her last silencing spell, she felt a slight rush to her head, and the world became blurry and dark. It passed after a moment, but still, Sheik knew that she was reaching her limit.

As they came to the last set of rafters and staked out their enemies, Sheik gestured for Link to come closer and sit with her.

"I can't afford another silencing spell," she said. "I need to have enough energy to free them, and to help them on the way back. If I use even one more silencing spell, I don't think I'll have enough."

The worried look on Link's face made Sheik half want to shove him off the rafters. "Are you alright?" he asked, eyes wide as he looked her over. "Take some water—there's some food in here, I think, and red potion—"

"It's not going to help," Sheik said. "We just need to get this over with, alright? I'd rather not end up dead or unconscious, so we're just going to have to fight without a silencing spell."

Though Link didn't look happy about it, he didn't argue. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, and if it weren't for the worry in his voice, she might have appreciated it more. The words had hardly left his mouth, though, before he took hold of her hand again. His hands gentle and warm, even if they were just as scarred and callouses as her own were. Sheik didn't pull away.

But though she didn't pull away, Sheik's face warmed as he pressed his lips to her knuckles.

As much as she appreciated the gesture, this wasn't the time or place for it. "We need to get this over with," she repeated. "So we need to disable the alarms so they don't call in all the guards from the smaller rooms, then we need to fight as hard and as fast as we can."

Link nodded, then gently released her hand. "Alright. And then we have to find an escape route?"

"The rope," she said, looking up at the rafters. "We can tie it to the rafters and get the girls out that way. We've cleared most of the rooms, except for that first one by the exit."

"Alright," he said softly. "You take care of the alarms. I'll get most of the fighting out of the way once you're done."

That decided, Sheik crawled along the rafters till she reached the main alarm. She only had time to put a crate over the top of it before she was seen. Before the guard could even make a move for her, Link jumped from the rafters and took out most of the guards in his path.

There wasn't enough time for the guards to react. Fortunately many of the guards were monsters—though well-trained ones—so Link had no qualms about thrusting his sword into their backs.

As for Sheik's part, she steered clear of much of the fighting, focusing instead on finding the girls.

It didn't take long to spot their cell.

There were three guards immediately guarding them, and Sheik didn't hesitate to throw knives between their eyes. Two fell from her throwing knives alone, leaving only the third to fight her properly.

Sheik's growing exhaustion was enough to slow her, though, and she was startled to realize that, in this state, he was a match for her.

Link was busy with the other guards—very busy, considering the pained shouts from behind her. Her pulse quickened when she realized she wasn't sure if it was only the monsters making those sounds. Still, she had a job to do, and as much as she wanted to help Link, the guard in front of her didn't want to let her leave.

In the end, it was one of the girls that saved Sheik.

Though most of the girls seemed to be in shock, one of them stepped forward and reached for the guard, holding him by his neck.

It held him back for just long enough for Sheik to drive her katana into his middle.

Thoroughly exhausted now, Sheik could only let out a breathy "thanks" before leaning hard against the cell.

At least it was a single, large cell. All the girls were grouped together, so Sheik didn't have to feel bad about leaving anyone behind if she didn't have enough magic to open their cell.

In fact, as she studied the guards she'd just taken out, it looked like she wouldn't have to use magic to open their cell at all. A shiny set of keys hung from one of the guards' belt-loop, ripe for the taking. Sheik opened up the cell in an instant, though she gestured for the girls to stay put.

Sheik finally had time to look behind her, and lo and behold, Link was surrounded by five other guards, including the last of the Hylian guards.

Though Sheik was struggling to even catch her breath, she ran towards him, throwing a knife at one of the guards' backs. It vanished in a puff of black smoke, leaving a gap for Sheik to run through. Still, as much as she would have liked to join Link in the center, she could do more from the outside. Though it was a dirty trick, she continued to target the enemies from behind till it was a fair fight.

With only two guards—one monster and one Hylian—left between them, the pair made short work of their mission.

"Alright," Link said as the last guard—a monster—vanished into smoke. He turned to the girls, an attempt at a reassuring smile on his face. "How many of you are there?"

"Twenty two," a girl said, and Sheik recognized her as the one who'd helped her. That dark skin and red hair was hard to miss. If Sheik hadn't been so tired, she might have wondered if she was Gerudo. "…Are we free to go?"

"It's still dangerous in the warehouse," Sheik said, striding forward and watching as the girls filed one by one out of their cell. "We cleared all the floors above this, and some of the hallways connected to it, but the room to the outside still has some guards. We'll have to be quiet till we get outside."

Link looked her over, and Sheik tried not to grimace at how he stared at the way she was leaning against a wall for support. Still, he spoke as if he hadn't noticed. "Right. You guys are going to have to be absolutely silent, okay? Then we'll go back through Marr and get you guys home as quickly as we can. It's a two mile walk from here, but I don't think anyone's going to try to stop us."

One of the girls frowned, thin brows furrowing as she stared at them. "…Do we have to stay in Marr?"

"Don't you want to go home?" Sheik, too tired to consider anything that wasn't directly survival oriented, couldn't quite get at what the girl was saying. "Or do you want to stay here?"

"But—I live in Castle Town," she said. "Most of us aren't from Marr. Do—do we have to stay there?"

Sheik blinked, confusion setting in deeper. Before she could protest or ask for clarification, Link gently took hold of her shoulder, stopping her before she said anything. "We need to get you out of here first thing," he said to the girls. "Just be patient for now. We'll sort through everything once we're out of the warehouse. But I don't think we have time to discuss it here."

"How are we getting out?" another girl asked. "Are we going up the stairs?"

"There are guards there," Sheik said. "We're going up to the top by rope." None of the girls looked pleased, exactly, but Sheik didn't have time to argue. Instead, she started climbing up the rafters the way she'd taught herself as a young girl. Though she was exhausted, she had enough energy for this, and finally managed to make it to the top. She unstrung the rope in her bag, letting it fall down to the bottom floor.

She held up a single finger for Link, and heard him (muffled), say, "Alright, one by one."

Now that most of her job was done, Sheik sat down at the far corner of the room, body almost numb with exhaustion. It would take a while for the girls to get to the top—especially going one by one—and that meant Sheik had just enough time to rest before they moved on.

Though she tried to avoid it, she ended up dozing off, startled when she heard Link's voice coming up the rope.

"—alright, is that everyone?" he asked, looking over the girls. "All twenty two of you?"

One quick headcount later, and they were ready to go. Sheik pulled herself up from the ground, wincing as she felt small injuries (mostly bruises and shallow cuts—make themselves known. There wasn't time to dwell on it or ask Link for red potion, so she simply started for the door.

"Alright. Be silent," she said. "Only speak up if you see a guard."

The girls nodded, and from there, they started through the warehouse.

* * *

One maze of corridors and a long hallway later, and everyone was waiting in anticipation for the open room to come. Before Sheik could reach for the door, though, Link gently took hold of her hand.

"Are you sure you can handle going out there?" he asked. "You've used a lot of magic already, Sheik."

"I don't plan on using anymore," she said. "I'll be fine."

In her heart of hearts, she was mostly worried about using too much magic and losing her glamour in front of guards, but there wasn't time to focus so much on that. They had to get out of here no matter what—and her glamour fading was nothing to all of them getting captured.

Though Link didn't look completely convinced, she knew he trusted her—and with the fire raging behind her eyes, she didn't think he'd contradict her.

So he nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder, obviously trying to bolster her strength. Though it didn't do much for her physically—especially since his hand was resting on top of a somewhat deep cut—it made her all the more determined to succeed.

Because they didn't make it out of here, Sheik knew it wasn't just the girls they'd be losing. There was a good chance that Link could also be taken, along with her.

They'd kill them, she knew—and if they didn't succeed, they'd certainly give it their all. For Link's sake she hoped his Triforce really would prevent him from dying, though she didn't trust it nearly as much as he seemed to.

"We can do this," she finally said. "But be safe. I'll take the far side—you stick closer to the door. Guard them with your life."

With that, the pair went towards the door, and on the count of three, they opened it.

The room was just as full of guards as it had been before, and the duo was far more tired than they had been before. But they were blocking the main exit, along with the alarm, so if nothing else, at least the guards couldn't escape or call for backup.

Sheik pressed further out than Link, who guarded the door and fought off every guard that got past Sheik. Between the two of them, they cleared the room in mere minutes, till finally, it was dead silent.

"Okay," Link breathed, resting on his sword. "I think it's time we got out of here."

Sheik nodded, too out of breath to even agree aloud. She watched with a small, relieved smile behind her mask as the girls filtered through the door, one by one, till all twenty two of them stood between her and Link.

"Let's get out of here," Link said, smiling as he led the way. Seeing how slow Sheik was moving, he seemed to take some small pity on her, and decided to give her respite. "Alright—I'll lead the way out, and my partner will bring up the rear, okay? Stay between us."

The girls nodded and followed Link. All together, they headed for an open window that she and Link had entered through so many hours ago.

Sheik waited till the last girl had joined the procession, then slowly started after her.

That was when she heard it.

There was movement behind a crate, all too close to her, and Sheik instinctively reached for her katana. But in one fluid movement, one last guard jumped out from behind a crate, a sword ready to skewer anything in his path.

Had he been racing towards Sheik, it would have been one thing. But he was going for the girl at the end of the line.

Sheik reacted on instinct alone.

She pushed the girl out of the way, hard enough that she fell, and hard enough that Sheik's entire body moved with the shove.

She was almost perfectly in line with the man's sword, and it was only luck and the man's own incompetence that he managed to only catch her side. Sheik's katana was ready, though, and before he could withdraw his sword and try again, she plunged her weapon straight into his heart. Once he fell, he took his sword with him, adding even more damage to Sheik's side. She fell to the ground, exhaustion and blood-loss pulling her down.

The ringing in her ears blocked out her own pained cry, and likely the sound of others calling for help. But though Sheik couldn't hear them, she soon felt hands lifting her back onto her feet.

She clutched at her side as she was pulled back upright, trying to stanch the blood-flow. Her hands were coated red in only seconds. When she tried to pull her hands back to see how much blood was coming though, someone pushed her hands back to her wound and forced pressure back on it.

Because of the shock of the injury and her exhaustion, Sheik was only distantly aware of the voices in her ear.

"—Sheik," someone was saying, and she supposed it was Link, since she hadn't mentioned her name to any of the girls. "Oh, goddesses—keep pressure on it, okay? I'll get you out of here, I promise. Can you walk?"

The shock wore off enough for her to answer, and when Link tried to lift her arm around his shoulders, she shoved him away. "I can walk," she said, though her voice was more like a croak. "I'll need help getting out of the window, but I'll be fine once we're outside. Do you still have red potion?"

Link nodded quickly, and Sheik soon felt more than one set of hands helping her out of the open window. She dropped to the ground once they were out, but she soon found herself back on her own two feet.

"Red potion," Link said, repeating the words a few times as he searched his satchel for a bottle. His hands shook as he uncorked it and held it to her lips. "Drink all of it—there's a few more bottles after this one, too."

"I'm only taking one," Sheik said after she'd finished the bottle. "Save the others for an emergency."

"This _is_ an emergency," Link snapped. "I'm not letting you—"

Sheik could already feel the effects of the potion kicking in. She wondered if this was how Link felt after the fight with the fire monster at Oxon, or if burns were more painful. She decided it wasn't worth the effort of thinking about it.

Despite her dizziness, Sheik turned and looked at the girls. "Alright," she said. "Most of you aren't from Marr, correct? Is there anyone who _is_?"

A few girls raised their hands, and Sheik considered them for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

"Okay. What's a safe place in Marr where we can keep hidden for the night? A tavern, an inn—do any of you have a house big enough to fit us all?"

None of the girls spoke up at first, but finally one of them stepped forward. "I—I work at a tavern," she said. "My… my boss always tried to protect me, before I went missing. He might be willing to let us all stay there for a little while."

Sheik nodded. "Once we get to the city limits, lead the way."

That said, she turned and started walking towards Marr, Link close at her side. It was probably for the best, because not even a mile towards the city, Sheik was lightheaded enough that she had to lean on him.

Red potion could only accelerate scar tissue formation and replace blood, after all. And scar tissue required more energy than she had, even if the red potion was doing its best to compensate.

It was all she could do to lean on him and force herself to stay awake. She prayed to Hylia and all Three that she'd manage to keep her glamour intact before she passed out.

* * *

As it turned out, the girl's boss was none other than Groose, and the tavern she worked at was the seedy one that she and Link had gotten chased out of.

Still, it was only midafternoon which meant the tavern was almost abandoned.

Sheik only distantly overheard the conversation with the manager, and to her relief, Groose seemed more than happy to take everyone in, even if it meant closing up his tavern for the night. There was food, there was shelter, and, to Sheik's relief, there was privacy.

As they settled in, though, Sheik could feel her grip on consciousness fading. The red potion that she'd been given simply wasn't enough for the extent of the injury. No matter how stubbornly she held out, she couldn't fight forever. The red potion had done its best, of course, and had replaced a lot of blood and formed as much scar tissue as it could. But it could only replace so much blood, and soon she was starting to feel lightheaded again.

They'd only just gotten every girl through the door and closed up shop for the day before Sheik excused herself.

Before she could pass out inside of a booth, she felt a hand catch her wrist.

"Sheik," Link said. It somewhat alarmed her that she could recognize his echoey, distant voice more than his face—had Link always been this dark and blurry? "Sit down."

"I was going to," she managed, but her own voice was far away. "I'll be fine—just…"

"Just…?" he asked. In an instant, he seemed to realize she was about to pass out, and he dug through his pouch for some red potion. "C'mon, Sheik—don't pass out on me. You need to stay awake to drink."

Sheik reached her hand out for the bottle, but Link held it to her lips instead. She supposed it was a good thing—her arms and face felt numb and weak. Had she held it herself, it might have just shattered on the ground.

As soon as she finished the potion, she felt it start to kick in, but exhaustion was winning over. "I… I'm sorry," she started, slowly blinking her eyes. "I…can't."

Dimly, she was aware of magic around her eyes failing her. For the life of her, she couldn't remember why it was so important that she maintained that spell. But she only blinked open blue eyes once or twice before her eyes remained shut, and she fell slowly, blissfully, asleep.

* * *

When Sheik awoke, everything was too bright, and she could hear muffled footsteps all around her, with muffled voices to match.

Still, for the most part she seemed to be alone, and she took advantage of it to reapply her eye glamour, red eyes flashing in the bright room she was being kept in. Even just applying the glamour was difficult, though, and she felt exhaustion start to creep back in as soon as it was back on.

Yes, she'd definitely overused her magic this time around. But as she thought back to all twenty two girls they'd saved, she couldn't feel anything but relief, and more than a little pride.

Deciding it was best to sit up to gage the extent of the damage, Sheik gingerly started to move. One arm behind her, she slowly propped herself up.

"I wouldn't get up, if I were you," someone said. It took Sheik a moment to place the voice. But before she could wonder, the tall, broad figure of Groose came into her line of sight. "Your, uh, boyfriend over there said not to let you get up yet. And it looks like he was onto something, Sheikah. You look terrible."

Sheik didn't take offense. She _felt_ pretty terrible, all considered. Still, she wondered at the word 'boyfriend.' "Uh huh. Did Link tell you we were dating, or did you decide that on your own?"

"The way he fussed over you, it's pretty hard not to think you're dating," Groose said. "Also, he said to drink this."

A red potion was pressed into her hand, and Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line as she looked at it.

"You'd better drink it, you know. No one here really knew how to stitch a wound, so unless you heal it quickly, you're probably gonna break through the stitches if you move much more." When Sheik still didn't immediately drink it, he leaned against the doorway, his demeanor and crossed arms not quite matching the cocky smile on his face. "Man, he was right. You _are_ stubborn."

Sheik narrowed her eyes. "Anything else he told you?"

"Not to be above forcing you to drink it. And also—this is a direct quote, 'Don't let her leave unless she drinks it.'"

Sheik sized him up. Any other day, she probably could have taken him on. But he was almost three times her size around and a bit taller than her. She could probably still take him if she was armed and he wasn't, but… She wasn't really keen on hurting the man who'd allowed the twenty four of them to stay there for the time being.

Remembering what time they arrived, though, Sheik looked out the window. It was already dark. "How long did I sleep?" she asked. "Should've been plenty of time to let this heal…"

"You were only asleep for maybe two or three hours," Groose said. "And you only didn't bleed to death because of the red potion Link made you drink before you passed out."

Passed out… Sheik closed her eyes, trying to remember what, exactly, had happened before she passed out.

In an instant, she remembered passing out on a booth in the tavern, but the details were sketchy. Her heart nearly stopped from worry, and she bolted upright in an instant. However, Groose had been right about the poor stitching, because instantly, her side reopened, leaving her no choice but to drink the red potion lest she bleed out.

Having been partway healed already, when she finished the drink the bleeding had already stopped again, though the wound was still raw with new scar tissue.

"Just relax, alright? You're safe," Groose said, misinterpreting her fears. Still, it helped Sheik calm down, if just a little—after all, she'd only be drawing more attention to herself if she panicked. "You're probably gonna have to drink another one of those later, too," Groose said, referring back to the red potions he'd mentioned. "But for now, you should be fine once you get it wrapped properly." Sheik gave him a blank look, and he raised a brow. "…All those bandages you're wearing on your wrists and fingers and—what, you don't have any for an actual wound?"

Sheik grimaced. However, he did have a point, so she looked around for her bag, finding it next to her. Inside was some gauze, and she didn't hesitate to undress to her training clothes in order to wrap up her wound.

Because the universe despised her, though, that was right when Link walked in.

"Groose, has she moved at all—" he started, then stopped dead in his tracks when she saw her upright and dressing her own wound. "Sheik!"

Once Link had entered the room, Groose seemed to take it as his cue to leave, and he only laughed as he watched Link run over to her.

Sheik looked up at him, her stare hard and accusing, though not quite as intense as she would have liked it to be. " _You_. _You_ told him not to let me leave till I drank another potion."

Link wasn't phased. "Yeah—looks like it was a good idea, too. Did you already drink it? It's most the way healed, from the looks of it." When she glared at him, his expression softened a little. "It was pretty deep, Sheik. I'm surprised you made it here without passing out on the way."

"What, and have you carry me again?" Sheik huffed, looking back down at the wrappings. She pulled the last one tight then let it stick to itself, the wrapping thick and stiff. At least it'd keep her from jostling it, she supposed. "…Are the girls alright?"

"The girls are fine, Sheik. Especially Cremia."

Sheik squinted. "And that's…?"

"The girl you got stabbed for," Link said. "That one."

Though she was relieved, she tried not to show it. "That's good. She'll need her strength to head back home and avoid getting captured again."

"About that…" Link took a seat next to her, careful not to jostle her too much. "We're still trying to decide where to take the rest of them. It'll take too long to bring all of them home. Some of them live in the far west, near the desert."

Sheik thought of the girl with red hair who looked somewhat Gerudo. "The west…"

"And some of them live in Castle Town, and some of them live near the Zoras, and some of them lived near Death Mountain. Point is, we can't go everywhere and risk not being able to save the girls at Ise, right?" Link let out a slow sigh, shaking his head. "I don't know where to take them, though. We can't just leave them at Marr, and we can't really take them with us back to Solen, can we?"

"Back to Solen, huh…" Sheik hummed, considering the possibilities. As she planned out the course and tried to figure out if there was a safe place along the way, she had a flash of inspiration. "Link—the horses!"

"Huh? We don't have enough for all of them, Sheik. And if we tried, we'd have to go back to Lon Lon Ranch and buy more—"

"No, I mean Lon Lon Ranch, Link. We have to stop there to drop off the horses anyways. And you've seen the ranch—it's huge. Plenty big enough for twenty two girls, isn't it?" Sheik reached forward and grabbed his shoulder, a fire behind her eyes once more. "I don't think Malon could turn them away if we brought them along—"

"Sheik, no, it's too dangerous," Link said. "We haven't even asked Malon—not to mention it'd only draw more monster attacks to the ranch!"

"But Malon could easily teach them how to fight off the monsters, and then she'd have even more people to help her run the ranch, too." When Link still looked skeptical, Sheik sat closer, determination on her face. "Couldn't we at least ask? …Besides, weren't some of the girls from Marr, anyways? It isn't like all twenty-two of them would be staying there."

"Only sixteen," Link said, lips pulling into a frown. "Five live in Marr—I've already escorted them back home, actually—and one lives in Solen. I promised her I'd take her back with us."

"Then what's the problem?" Sheik said. "It's only sixteen of them. Malon can manage."

"We have to consider other options. I don't know if she actually _has_ the resources, Sheik—"

"Then _I'll_ pay her the difference." Before Link could protest, Sheik stood up, eyes hard and fierce as she stared him down. "We saved them from that warehouse, Link—but we have to finish the job, or for all we know they'll end up right where they started, and it'll probably be worse for them since they've escaped once already."

Link let out a sigh, scratching the back of his neck. "…And you're sure she'll take them? I just don't want to get there and have to travel with them all the way to Telma's, Sheik. We'd have to find supplies to feed everyone for almost two weeks for the return trip. That's seventeen mouths, including the girl coming back with us."

"I trust Malon," Sheik said. "I think she'd agree."

Link was quiet for a while, but when he finally answered her, it was with an agreement. A resigned, hesitant agreement, but agreement nonetheless. "I hope you're right about this. I trust her too, but… if this goes wrong, Sheik, there are going to be big consequences."

"If worst comes to worst, they can stay at Tal," Sheik said. "But we're not just going to leave them here. I don't trust this city."

To her surprise, Link nodded. "Either Malon's or Tal," he said. "I can agree to that."

Sheik held out a hand as if for him to shake on it. However, to her surprise, he took it and pressed her knuckles to his lips. "That's not how you shake hands," Sheik said, but she didn't pull away.

"Can't I just be glad you're alright?" he asked softly. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll tell the girls about our plans—"

Instead of lying back down, Sheik started to walk towards the door. "Tell them _with_ me, then. I want to see all the ones that are still here and make sure everyone's alright."

"Sheik…"

"I want to see them," she said. At his nervous stare, she sighed and held out a hand for him to take. "But… if I need to lean on someone, you'll be the first to know. Fair?"

"…Fair," he said, then took her hand.

She didn't give him the chance to kiss her hand. She intertwined his fingers with her own and held his hand tight enough that he had no chance of changing or breaking out of the hold.

* * *

After telling the girls, Sheik and Link went back to the inn they'd been staying at. However, it was only to pay the fee for not returning earlier and to reclaim their things. Link had insisted for a time on going by himself, but they'd brought a lot of supplies, and Sheik knew good and well that he hadn't slept yet. There was no way she was letting him get everything alone.

So, after hauling their things back to the tavern and setting them down in half of a vacant booth, their job was finally complete for the day.

Once everything was set up though, Sheik slid into the other half of the booth and reached over to grab two bottles of red potion.

"Two?" Link asked, voice raising from worry. "Sheik—did you get hurt again—?"

"Relax," she said, then took hold of his wrist. Hoping not to wake the girls—as many of them had crawled into booths and gone to sleep—she pulled him into the booth with her. "It's for you. Don't think I didn't notice all those cuts you got. Just 'cause you didn't bleed out doesn't mean they can't get infected."

"Sheik…" Link hesitated, biting his lower lip. "I don't really need—"

"I'll drink mine if you drink yours," she said. "But if you don't, I won't."

Link frowned, but it was rather hollow compared to how he usually looked when he wasn't happy with her—not to mention how exhausted he looked with those circles forming around his eyes. "Sheik… that's not really fair…"

"I never said it was fair," she said, then uncorked both of the bottles. "C'mon, Link. The ride to Lon Lon Ranch is going to be miserable tomorrow if you don't drink. You wanna look handsome for that pretty ranch hand, don't you?"

"C'mon," he said, rubbing blearily at his eyes. "I don't look that bad—and she's not… I mean… there's no one there that I need to impress."

Sheik rested her elbow against the table, propping her cheek up on her hand. "Link. C'mon. It's not gonna kill you."

With a sigh, he lifted his glass. "Only if you drink yours, too," he said, waiting for her to lift her own before he held his to his lips. As Sheik drank, he drank too, and Sheik made sure he finished the potion before she set her own—empty—bottle back on the table.

"See? That wasn't so hard."

Link rubbed at his eyes again, clearly trying to keep himself awake. Seeing that it was a losing battle, he stood up, presumably to find another booth to sleep in. However, before Sheik completely realized what she was doing, she took hold of his wrist.

"Hey," she said softly. "I think most the booths are full."

"Really?" he asked, looking around. His face fell, almost comically disappointed. "…I… have to admit, I was… kind of hoping to sleep on a bed tonight. Or, I mean. At least a booth."

Sheik didn't let go of his hand, instead just gently pulling him back. "Who said you couldn't?"

"But—you're _injured_ —"

"With how many potions I've drank today, you're probably worse off than I am." Sheik reached across the table and found the knapsack they kept the blankets in, and pulled one around Link's shoulders before taking one for herself, too. "C'mon. You deserve a booth as much as I do."

There was a flicker of a thought that they could _both_ have a side to themselves if they just moved their travel supplies.

Sheik ignored that thought.

Link, tired as he was, didn't seem to be thinking of much of anything. "You're sure it's alright?" he asked, already blinking slower. "I don't wanna… do anything you don't want to do."

"Stop trying to be a gentleman, I watched you kill at least fifty monsters today," Sheik said. Link only let out a hum, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her. Sheik kept quiet, waiting for him to give her a real answer, but after a beat of silence, she realized he probably wasn't going to say anything. In fact, judging from the way his head was already drooping to the side, he was probably already half asleep.

Sheik wrapped an arm around his shoulder—pulling his blanket back up around his shoulders—and leaned back against the booth.

Link fell asleep against her shoulder, and Sheik rested her head against his. Though it certainly wasn't the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements, Sheik wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

By the time morning came, they'd greatly shifted positions. It must have been in their sleep, because Sheik had slept like the dead, and she knew Link must have, too, after being up for nearly twenty four hours.

Still, it came as something of a shock when Sheik woke up to something moving underneath her.

It took her far too long to realize that her head was resting on Link's chest, and that the movement was Link's breathing. It would explain the warm weight on her back, too—his arms must have wrapped around her while they were sleeping.

She decided to spare his dignity. Gently, she moved up off of him, positioning her blanket over him so he wouldn't wake from being cold.

Still, somehow her absence made him stir, and Sheik tried not to feel guilty when he shifted and almost seemed to be reaching for her.

Because Link was blocking the only exit from that side of the booth, Sheik had to crawl under the table to get out—not something her body really wanted after how hard she'd pushed it the previous day.

Just as she was crawling out from under the table though, a voice startled her and she nearly hit her head.

"So… I take it you guys are doing well?" Groose asked, offering her a hand. Sheik ignored it. "Aw, don't do that. I'm just happy for you guys, that's all."

"We aren't dating," Sheik said, sure to keep her voice low. "We were undercover that first night."

Groose, though a little surprised at first, soon settled onto a more curious expression. "Well… I guess that explains a lot. You were doing such a bad job at wooing him that I actually felt kind of bad for you. Guess it's probably for the best that you two are just partners then, huh?"

Sheik glanced back at Link, still peacefully asleep. "…Yeah," she said, glancing away. "Partners."

Groose's lips twitched into a smile. "See, partners don't sound that let-down when they say 'partners.'" When her expression turned petulant, he laughed, and said, "I will say this, Sheikah—you might be awful at wooing him, but whatever you're doing, it's probably working. I don't know many just-partners that choose to sleep next to each other when there are plenty of other booths."

Not wanting the conversation to continue any longer for fear of Link waking, Sheik merely set her lips into a frown—not visible behind her mask. Goddesses, she was _dying_ to take it off again. But there were too many people around, and honestly, she was feeling a bit overexposed as it was.

Part of her wondered, as she looked around the tavern, if any of the girls thought less of her for getting injured. Not to mention they'd seen her weak, resting against a wall even before she'd nearly been skewered.

She tried to convince herself that she didn't care what they thought, and quickly stood.

"Is there anyplace around town I can stock up on food?" she asked Groose as she led him away from Link. "It's going to be a long journey back home for Link and I, and we need two days' worth of food for each of the girls, too."

Groose hummed. "Well… the markets are open today, yeah, but it's probably a little dangerous if you go alone, even at midday."

Sheik glanced back at Link and decided she didn't want to wake him for this. "I'll be fine," she said. "Just… make sure all of the girls are here and safe. Only wake Link if someone dangerous comes by."

Though Groose looked like he wanted to protest, he shrugged instead, waving a hand dismissively. "Fine. I guess after what you did to that warehouse last night most of the kidnappers are licking their wounds. Nice job, by the way—from what the girls tell me, you two were amazing last night. …And you've got the clothes to prove it, too, yeesh."

Sheik's lips twitched into a smile, and she glanced down at the bloodstains and tears over her clothes. Though red potion and a good night's sleep had helped her physically, the evidence of the previous day still lingered.

Part of her wanted to keep her clothes torn and bloody, but she knew it'd be a bit suspicious.

Now that her magic had replenished, she cast a quick cleaning spell, mending the worst of it (though she couldn't be bothered to fix small tears just yet).

It occurred to her all too late that Groose had seen her use magic, but honestly, she couldn't be bothered to care. She had bigger problems, and honestly, most people knew that the Sheikah were a magical race.

"I'll be going now," she said, starting for the door. "Look after everyone. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Only an hour had passed before she'd collected enough to last everyone for the journey. It'd be primarily on foot, but if they were quick—and she was going to hurry them probably more than they'd like—they could make it to Lon Lon Ranch by the second nightfall of their journey.

It would be a pain to lug that much food around, but on the bright side, they'd get through nearly half of their entire supply within just a few days and greatly reduce the amount they were packing around.

It was still mid-afternoon by the time she returned, and something told her that they wouldn't be leaving till the dawn of the next morning. That was perfectly fine with her; as much as she wanted to leave and get on with their mission, the girls deserved some time to breathe, and Link deserved some time to recover.

When she got back to the tavern, Link was awake, along with most the rest of the girls.

Relieved that everyone seemed alright, Sheik relaxed as she walked through the doorway and set several bags' worth of food on the tavern tables.

After checking once, twice, three times that there was no one unaccounted for—and that no one had snuck in amongst them—Sheik motioned everyone closer. She waited till they were quiet to start talking, keeping her voice low despite their privacy. "We're leaving tomorrow at dawn—probably a little before. I hope everyone's ready for a long, long walk, 'cause that's what we're going to be doing for two days." She hesitated, thinking of the possibility of them going to Tal. "…Maybe longer, depending on whether or not Malon takes you."

A slight murmur or worry passed through the girls, but Link was quick to quiet them. "I'm sure she will. But if not, there's still a place for you. The town's nearly abandoned last we checked. Perfect spot for people who don't want to be found. Plenty of resources, though," he continued. "And we can, um, probably get a horse so you can go to some other nearby towns and make sure to get food."

"Will we stay there forever?" the Gerudo-looking girl asked. "Or can we go home eventually?"

Sheik glanced at Link, then bit her lip, unsure of how to answer her. They had done their best, but they didn't have the time or money to get everyone back home. Fortunately Link answered the girl before Sheik could.

"If you find a way to get home yourself, we'll fully support you. But right now our mission is just to get all of you girls away from that warehouse. We're doing the best we can to get you somewhere _safe_ —but there are lots of girls that are still locked up somewhere. It wouldn't be fair to leave them there."

The girl sighed, but she didn't protest. Instead, she put on a brave face and said, "But if we _do_ find a way, then we're allowed to leave and go back home?"

"If you think you can, you're welcome to it. You're free to go anywhere. But we know a safe place to take you in the meanwhile, till you have the resources to get back home by yourself."

Sheik looked around for any other questions, but found no one willing to speak up. Though she was grateful for the lack of complaints, she could see the uncertainty on their faces. She supposed she understood what they were feeling—probably better than Link.

But how could she tell them that she, too, knew what it was like to feel trapped, to be hunted for things they couldn't control, to feel like the world was against them, and to know that there was nothing they could do about the person causing all this?

When her mouth opened to form the words, Sheik couldn't find her voice.

Instead, she simply let Link tell them to relax and get plenty of sleep that night, then turned to sit among the supplies. For the rest of the night, Sheik busied herself with sorting through the supplies and reading the book Malon had given her.

It was probably going to be a long few days, but at the very least, Sheik was looking forward to seeing all the girls safe.

* * *

 **((Okay! Well, that certainly took long enough to write. But it's finally Spring Break, so I can actually probably get a little ahead in writing this (hopefully).**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for all of your support! I appreciate all of your kind words, and I'm so glad that so many of you love this fic so much! Thank you for sticking by me, and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic as much as you do!**

 **If you liked this chapter—and even if you didn't!—please leave a review to tell me what you liked or what you disliked. Again, thank you so much for your support, and I hope you'll stick with me as the plot continues to grow!))**


	20. Chapter 20

**((Sorry for this being late. There are a lot of scenes I had a lot of trouble writing this particular chapter, so I constantly debated about what scenes to even include.))**

* * *

As Sheik was discovering, travelling wasn't nearly as fun with so many extra people. Happy as she was to be helping the girls, she would be happier once they were dropped off at Malon's. Then she and Link could get back on the road, and they wouldn't have to move so frustratingly slowly.

With so many people, she and Link were doomed to move at a walking pace for the time being. Though it was almost relaxing not to move so quickly, Sheik was on edge. After all, because they walked so slow, they were at a higher risk for being followed and unable to make a clean getaway. It didn't help matters that the land around Marr was flat, either. Though they could potentially see enemies from a mile away, they were even more visible because they were such a large, slow-moving party.

Not to mention many of the girls had been confined to a cell for the last several weeks. Even the ones that had only been there for a few days were feeling the effects. It was difficult, after all, to go from stagnant to spending all day on foot.

Because of that, Sheik and Link set up camp not long after sunset.

Though they could have easily spent the rest of the night walking, most of the girls looked downright exhausted.

The majority of the girls fell asleep within minutes of setting up for camp. Not that there was much camp to set up; there were only two sleeping mats, and since there weren't enough for everyone, Sheik and Link had elected not to use them at all.

At least most of the girls weren't shy about sharing body heat. Sheik supposed it was only natural after living in such close quarters for so long; they seemed to know each other quite well by now, or at least well enough not to sleep so close together. Though the night wasn't too cold to bear—and Sheik thanked the goddesses for that—it certainly wasn't warm, either.

Because they were the only two still fully awake, Link and Sheik set themselves up a short distance away so they could talk and wouldn't be overheard.

"So," Link said once they were sure everyone else had fallen asleep. "You're sure Malon will take them?"

Sheik didn't answer at first, instead just watching over the small group in front of them. "You know her as well as I do," she said. "You tell me."

"I think she will," Link said. "But I still don't feel right about just…"

"Just going up to her door and dropping off fifteen strangers?" Sheik sighed, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees. "I don't feel good about it, either, but… She has plenty of room, and more supplies and food than Tal could give them. I say we at least give her a chance. And if she says yes, then…"

"Then?"

Sheik hesitated. "…Then maybe some of the other girls we save will have a safe place there, too."

"Sheik…" Sheik didn't look at him. "We haven't even _been_ to Ise or Sarin yet. Maybe—"

"There are hardly any Hylian villages that far north, Link. However many there are, I doubt they're all from nearby towns. Not to mention you have to cross the Zoras to even _get_ to Ise."

"I've been wondering about that, actually." Link leaned back, resting on his palms. "In Hyrule's history, the Zora are sometimes the first to be hit… Do you think something happened to them? It'd make sense, if someone's crossing their domain…"

Sheik closed her eyes, processing the information as best as she could. "It might be one of the first links to connecting all of this if it's true," she said, voice slow and hesitant. "I just wish I knew what the other cities had to do with it—aside from just an easier way to force people into smaller areas so they can search for girls more efficiently."

Link nodded. "Hopefully Sarin won't be too weird, huh?"

"Ravio said it was a 'strange jungle,'" Sheik said. "So… I suppose it might actually be more normal than other cities. Hard to get stranger than a city raised into the air."

"A jungle all the way up in Lanayru, though…" Link cracked a smile. "It's freezing up in those northern parts, then suddenly it's a jungle. At least it'll probably be warm in Sarin, huh?"

Sheik hummed, leaning back on her palms and trying not to shiver as wind stirred around them. "Yeah. Warm…"

Now that the sun had set, it was definitely starting to get chilly—but Sheik wasn't about to break out blankets. So instead, she just ignored the chill in the air. Or tried to, anyways—eventually, she involuntarily shivered. As soon as she did, Link sat closer, pulling her to his side.

The warmth was appreciated, and though Sheik's pride wasn't fond of the idea of someone else trying to _protect_ her (even just from the cold), she knew Link was probably cold, too. She wrapped an arm around him soon after, if just to keep him warmer, too.

As they sat in silence, Sheik watched the group of girls, a slight frown on her face. Some of them looked the tiniest bit cold, even with the way they were piled on top of each other. But all the blankets they had with them wouldn't be enough to cover even half of them. She wished they had enough for everyone, but…

"You worried about them?" Link asked, distracting her from her thoughts. "I'm sure they'll be fine. Just another day on the road, yeah?"

Sheik thought back to Malon, and how caring she'd seemed while they were at the ranch. Though they'd gotten off to a rocky start, she knew instinctively that she had to take them to the ranch. It was almost something deeper than just her mind; similar to the half tangible voice she'd heard when Link had gone to the forest in the middle of the night.

"Yeah," she finally said. "Just another day on the road."

As they watched the group of girls in front of them, Link let out a slow yawn. It was definitely relaxing out here in the plains, especially with so many stars in the sky above them. She couldn't blame him for feeling tired, even though they'd taken it easy today compared to the last few weeks.

"You should sleep," Sheik found herself saying. "I'll take the first watch."

"We're taking watches now?" Link asked, raising a brow. "You need sleep too, don't you?"

Sheik shook her head. "With this many people, I don't think it's a good idea to have everyone asleep all at once. Get some rest—I'll wake you about half through the night, okay?"

"Well, if you're sure…"

Link hesitated, though, pulling away from her as if unsure where to lie down. Once he pulled away, Sheik realized just how cold it was—and she realized what he might have been hesitating for.

Sheik's lips twitched into a smile, hidden behind her mask. "Cold?" she asked, leaning back till she could rest on her elbows. "I don't think there'd be any shame in following their example, you know."

He looked up at her, expression still cautious, as if he wasn't quite sure if he could trust her. Sheik supposed he couldn't fully remember last night, when they'd shared a booth at Marr—especially since she'd left before he woke. "And you're… alright with that?"

"It's not like we have to make it a habit," she said. "But you'll make a nice wind block 'til we get our blankets back."

Link bit the inside of his cheek, but a smile stretched across his lips soon after. Without waiting for another invitation, he sidled up next to her, leaning on her from the side. If he realized his head was resting on her chest, he gave no sign of it, and she didn't move him away.

As Sheik tilted her head up and looked at the stars above, she felt Link slowly fall asleep against her, his breaths deep, slow, and steady.

Honestly, with how peaceful he looked, Sheik wasn't sure if she'd have the heart to wake him later.

He deserved a good night's sleep, and so long Sheik was awake to keep everyone safe, then surely it'd be alright?

Cremia came to her mind, unbidden, and Sheik quickly blocked out the thought before she could obsess over it too much. Still, it was persistent, and Sheik felt guilt starting to settle in. She needed to be more careful in the future, she decided. They should have counted the guards ahead of time… Should have thought that at least one of the guards would have been a coward and hidden.

If one of the girls died because she wasn't fast enough to save them, could she really live with herself?

…And, even when they didn't have the girls around…

Would she be able to live with herself if Link got hurt?

* * *

It was Link, in the end, who prompted her to switch their positions. Though he'd stayed asleep for well over half the night, his sleep had turned less peaceful as the night went on. Sheik could only watch as his face shifted into a grimace, his muscles tensing as if to fight.

Morning would be in a few hours through, so Sheik supposed it was only fair to wake him—especially if his dreams were turning sour. Having had some experience with nightmares, she knew it was often better to get less sleep than to suffer from the panic nightmares brought on.

So Sheik sat up, gently moving Link off of her and shaking his shoulder. "Hey," she said softly, not wanting to wake any of the girls. "It's your turn to take watch."

Though Link startled upon first waking, he quickly relaxed. Sheik hoped he wouldn't even remember his dreams—though she knew it was probably a vain hope.

"My… turn?" he finally said, slowly blinking his eyes open. Now that he was awake and upright, the cold was settling against him—and it was definitely colder now that the sun's heat had dissipated hours ago. Link quickly became more awake from the cold, looking around their camp with concern. "Are the girls—?"

"They're fine," Sheik said. "The night's just half over, that's all. I'd rather not fall asleep while trying to keep watch."

Link looked around at the placement of the moon, raising a brow. "Looks like more than halfway through the night, Sheik…"

"Wasn't tired till now," she said. "Figured if I wasn't even tired, there wasn't any point to switching."

Though Link didn't look fully mollified, he seemed to decide not to argue with her, if only not to waste time arguing. Instead, he moved back till he was propped up against some of the saddle bags. "C'mon," he said. "I know it's cold. Might as well get comfortable."

To Sheik's surprise, a yawn passed her lips. Though the cold had kept her awake for a while, now that Link was awake, her body didn't seem half as intent on staying awake. "Right," she said, trying not to look too obviously tired as she moved over to him.

She took a somewhat conservative position, sitting by his side and laying her head against his chest. It didn't do much to keep either of them warm, but she supposed it was better than being too affectionate. The last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable after how hesitant he'd looked earlier.

Tired as she was, Sheik fell asleep quickly, the steady rhythm of Link's heartbeat and breathing putting her to sleep.

However, to her surprise, she found herself half-awake only a few minutes later, roused by motion around her.

Sheik didn't even bother to open her eyes. The motion would die down soon, she knew, and she doubted he'd intended to wake her in the first place. As Link shifted behind her, she decided he was just trying to get comfortable. Not surprising; she knew the saddle-bags weren't very comfortable.

But, as he settled back down, Sheik became gradually aware of a few things.

One, that the fabric her ear was pressed against wasn't the sturdy material of his outer tunic, but of his undershirt. Two, that something warm and solid was draped over her. And three, that he'd changed the way she was lying down. Now, she was curled up on her side, resting between his legs with her head against his middle, not his chest.

Being only half awake, Sheik didn't have the energy to protest. And, more importantly, she wasn't sure she would have even if she was awake. He must have only moved her because he was cold, she decided, a bit too drowsy to think about why he'd removed his tunic and put it over her.

As long as he'd only moved her because he was cold, she didn't mind.

Sheik fell asleep once more, significantly more relaxed this time. And if, in her half-asleep state, her arms wrapped around Link's middle, she certainly wasn't to blame for it.

* * *

With the next day came the same routine, till finally (finally) they approached Malon's around the evening. Because they were so close, everyone had elected to continue walking till they arrived, despite the girls' obvious exhaustion.

And, when they arrived, Sheik had to force her worry deep, deep within her, lest she ruin it all by tripping over her words or being too forceful.

With the girls staying with Link beside the house, it was up to Sheik to knock and explain the situation first. So, with a careful hand, she knocked.

When Malon answered the door, Sheik hated that the first words she said to her were, "Are you alone?"

Malon looked up at her with a quizzical expression. Sheik couldn't blame her. "…Yes," Malon said, looking around. "Where's Link? And the horses? Is everythin' alright?"

"Yes," Sheik said quickly. "Better than alright. We…" She took a deep breath, not wanting to rush the news. "We succeeded at Marr. Link's with the horses right now, if you want to speak with him."

"Oh! That's wonderful news," Malon said, her worried frown changing to a smile. However, she still looked a bit confused, and added, "But why ask me if I'm alone? Did something happen?"

"Because…" Sheik bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't sound too desperate. "Because we, ah. Brought a few people with us."

Malon's eyes widened. "…Some of the kidnapped girls?"

"Most of them, actually," she said. "I know you said you didn't want to endanger your barn—and I understand that. And I understand if you have to turn us away, but…"

Malon's face was completely unreadable, which didn't help matters.

"…But we need your help," Sheik finally managed. "Please. We can't get them all home right now. We assumed most of them were from Marr when we rescued them—but they're from all over Hyrule. We don't have the money or the resources to send them anywhere else, and some of them live all the way to the western borders of Hyrule. You're the only person I know who has the space and resources to accommodate so many people, Malon."

Sheik almost wanted to close her eyes, if just so she didn't have to watch as Malon decided these girls' fate. But she stood fast, unwilling to back down from a challenge.

Her heart nearly stopped when Malon's mouth finally opened again.

"I'll take them all for tonight," Malon finally said. Already knowing that it wasn't an automatic yes, Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line behind her mask, braced for the worst. But before she could even fully prepare herself, the rancher continued, "And we'll see about the future afterwards."

"So you'll take them?"

"We'll see," Malon repeated. "I want to check for myself if any of them are spies. Those monsters would stoop to any low, Sheik. If there's a rat among 'em, I don't want that girl in my house."

"But you'll take the rest?" Sheik's heart sped up, relief already filling her up. Malon nodded, however hesitantly, and Sheik couldn't help the smile that split her face. "Malon— _thank you_ , thank you so much."

Malon stepped backwards, a hesitant smile on her lips. "Well," she finally said, wiping her hands on the apron that adorned the front of her dress. "Let's see them, yeah? I assume they're with Link and the horses?"

At the mention of his name, Link came around the edge of the house, all sixteen girls in tow. "We, um, already put the horses back in the corral," he said, hefting a huge load of supplies onto his back. "Hope that's alright."

"Better than alright," Malon said with a smile, opening the door wider and letting everyone come inside.

Sheik lingered, though, waiting till everyone was in before slipping out and grabbing the rest of the supplies so they wouldn't sit outside all night. Once she came back in, everyone was already in the process of introducing themselves. Probably useful, since Sheik assumed the majority of them (if not all of them) would be living with Malon for the foreseeable future.

As for her, though, the less she knew about any of the girls, the better.

It was all well and fine for Malon to get attached to them—and even Link—but as much as Sheik cared about their well-being, she couldn't allow herself to get too close.

Not to Peatrice, the one who worked with Groose and had led them to a safe place for the next few days. Or to Nabooru, the one who'd held the guard back in the cell and allowed Sheik to give him the finishing blow. And especially not to Cremia.

They were mixed up in this enough. The last thing Sheik wanted to do was to involve them more than they already were.

Not to mention the guilt. Ever since last night, she couldn't get that weight off of her chest.

Had she been any slower, Cremia might have been killed. All because she hadn't noticed that guard sooner. And Link… what if he'd been the one at the tail end of the procession? What if he'd gotten hurt?

So as the girls were getting introduced to Malon, Sheik pulled herself away, instead propping herself up against the back door. Someone had to keep on lookout, she decided—especially now that there were so many of them staying here.

She was, perhaps, an hour into her watch before she felt someone tap her shoulder.

Sheik whirled around, tense enough to throw a fist, but Link put his hands up into a pacifying gesture the moment she turned.

"Easy," he said. "Just wanted to let you know that everyone worked together to make some soup. Figured you might like some."

Between the gesture and his calming words, Sheik felt herself relax. However, despite that, she knew she had to refuse. "Maybe later," she said, glancing back to the open door. "I think I should probably stay here."

Link furrowed his brow. "Are you… keeping watch?"

"Someone has to," Sheik said. "If someone comes, I want to have enough warning to do something about it."

Though Sheik knew her words were perfectly rational, somehow, the look on Link's face was almost disappointed. He didn't say anything for a while, seemingly uncertain about something. But when he did speak up again, it was with that same, gentle voice he'd used earlier. "Well," he said, "I can take over for you later, if you want. But we can probably get Malon and the girls to organize themselves into their own watches, you know."

Sheik shrugged. "While I'm here I might as well be useful."

"And you didn't think you were being useful before?" Link took a step closer, leaning against the wall next to the door. "C'mon, Sheik…"

"There's _always_ something to do," she said firmly. "And after all they've been through, they deserve a night or two of peace."

"And you don't?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you're not giving yourself one." Link looked closer at her, lips pulling into a contemplative frown. "…At least promise me that you'll actually get a good night's sleep tonight."

Sheik glanced at him, raising a brow. "Should I be planning on it?"

"Considering you only got a few hours of sleep last night? Yes."

Though she knew he had a point, Sheik couldn't help but think of all the nights he'd foregone sleep after Ecchar. Those dark circles had lingered well into their journey to Marr; Sheik remembered them too well to let _him_ talk to her about the importance of a good night's sleep. "You've managed for longer on less. All we're going to be doing is _traveling_ , Link. I doubt we'll run into anything important."

"And if we do?" When Sheik didn't answer, Link sighed and shook his head. "All I'm saying is that I'm not the one who has magic that runs on life energy."

"You don't even know how it works," Sheik said, trying not to visibly bristle. "I'll be _fine_."

"I know enough to be worried."

"Do you really?" Sheik crossed her arms, sizing him up as if for a fight. "What _do_ you know about it?"

For a moment, anger flashed in his eyes, and even when he forced himself to calm, Sheik could see him physically bite his tongue. Whatever he was restraining himself from saying, it had to be important. It occurred to her, briefly, that he was getting almost _too_ involved in talking about magic. Why was he so worried now of all times? "I know that when you overuse your magic, the first thing you do is either need to take a long break or, at worst, you pass out," he finally said, voice far more calm than before. "That's enough of an answer for me."

"I hardly _use_ magic when we're fighting monsters, Link," she snapped. "I only use it if there's no other way out of a fight, or for keeping quiet, or for using glamours to disguise myself."

Recognition flashed in Link's eyes. "Glamours," he said, then hesitated before speaking again. "Like… the one you used in Ecchar?"

"Obviously," she said. "Appearances don't just change on their own."

"…Right," he said, suddenly looking away. "Of course not."

Sheik narrowed her eyes, looking him over once more. He certainly was acting strange… He'd never been so focused on her glamours before. Her heartrate spiked, just for a moment as she considered the possibilities. Perhaps he'd seen something?

She knew she'd been less careful about her glamour while traveling with him, but she couldn't recall ever losing her glamour in his presence… Though, then again, things had been hectic enough at times that she wasn't sure she would have even noticed if her glamour faded. Especially in the aftermath of Marr.

…But, surely she would have noticed?

Her stomach plummeted to sit between her hips, but she showed no trace of it on her face. Instead, she went back to looking out the door.

He couldn't already know, she decided. If he knew her secret, then surely he would have said something about it already. That in mind, she rested a bit easier, but she knew she'd have to be more careful in the future. She couldn't let him know the truth.

Not even just because it would put both of them at risk.

After all, it would mean he knew she'd lied to him. And, judging from the look on his face—as sure and steady as ever—he didn't look hurt, or betrayed. Nothing like how he'd looked on their way away from Solen, when he'd asked her outright about the lies she'd told.

Surely, she decided, he'd look angrier if he suspected.

And so, even when he spoke again, Sheik forced herself to stay calm. "Well," he said, "If you ever do need your magic when we're out on the road, it just seems like a good idea to have enough energy to actually use it. That's all."

When Sheik didn't answer, Link sighed, finally pushing up off the wall. He hesitated before going any further, though, as if waiting for something. Sheik furrowed her brows as his boots lingered near her, indecisive, before finally they picked back up again.

As he turned and walked away, Sheik wondered why he was acting so strange.

Still, she kept her focus on the open door, unable to relax till finally the footsteps faded out of earshot and he rejoined the others.

Link was acting… not just strange, she decided. Overly cautious would be more accurate— _suspicious_ , even. But then, she supposed she wasn't one to talk—and it was hardly anything new for him to act so secretive. Of all the people she'd met, he was second only to her in secrets.

Between the two of them, they had more secrets than she knew what to do with.

And even though he seemed to have told her most things—or rather, she'd found them out, one way or another—she knew he hadn't told her everything. She still didn't know why he had such trouble sleeping, still didn't know what had happened with Ravio and Hilda, still didn't know much about his childhood, his time at the castle, his friendships, his dreams.

But then, he didn't know half as much about her as she knew about him.

It pained her that she _wanted_ to know, though—and, worse, that she wanted him to know about her.

 _This_ was why Sheik had chosen to shut so many people out. Her younger self had been more careful, she knew; her younger self had been smarter about people. Standoffish as she had been, at least her secret had never been so close to being exposed. She'd been _safe_. Yes, she'd been a thief and alone without a friend to call her own, but at least she'd kept herself hidden.

Sheik pressed her forehead against the doorframe.

Once, emotions hadn't mattered. Sheik hadn't gotten close enough to anyone for them to be anything more than an afterthought, or wishful thinking. She'd been a scared little girl, and fear had guided every single one of her choices. But interpersonal feelings? After Impa had died, she hadn't had feelings to spare for anyone.

And yet here Link was, forcing himself into her life as her partner, then slowly wheedling his way into something else. Something more.

 _Partner_ didn't explain how much she trusted him. Not just with her life, but with conversation, with half-truths rather than lies. With the mere _mention_ of Impa.

If she was being honest with herself, _friend_ was more suitable than partner.

But then, _friend_ didn't explain the way she'd felt when they'd sparred all those nights ago.

Yet, before she could even think along that line, invasive thoughts clouded her mind. Friends wouldn't be so careless with their friends' lives, she thought, guilt making her feel hollow. What if that guard had attacked Link, instead? What if there'd been a guard outside? Would Sheik have been fast enough to save him from inside?

She pushed the thought out of her head before it could do any more damage than it'd already done, but the seeds had already been planted. She knew she wouldn't be able to get it out of her head. Just as with last night, she knew she'd spend much of the day thinking about it, and dwelling on it till it felt like poison to her mind.

Staring determinedly outside, Sheik forced herself to watch out for any monsters instead. Though she was sure she could watch out for monsters even while distracted with deep thinking, she didn't want to dwell on the topic any longer.

After all, what if she came to an actual conclusion?

It was better, for now, to stay solidly within the realm of indecision. She'd pull back the affection they'd worked up to, and she wouldn't try to get any closer with him.

As much as it pained her, she'd have to distance herself again. It wasn't just her secret that depended on it, either. Link had the Triforce of Courage, and if he was right about the King's Daughter not even knowing she had the Triforce of Wisdom, then between the two of them, they had two thirds of the keys to sacred power.

No one could know that she was the King's Daughter. Not the King, not the one who'd conquered the castle, not Malon, not any of the girls they'd saved. Link was no exception.

It was just the way it had to be.

* * *

When night finally came, the stars over Lon Lon Ranch were beautiful. Sheik, having hardly moved from her position, was caught between making constellations and keeping an eye on the world around her. There was no movement around the house, though, and at this point, it was getting too dark to make out anything past a mile of the house.

It was flat land, sure, but with how dark it was, it was impossible to make out shapes in the distance… especially when she was standing near the relative light of the house.

"You're still up?"

Sheik turned to see Malon standing some distance away. She looked tired, Sheik noted, but there was a smile on her face despite the worry to her brows. Was she really so cheerful even after getting blindsided with so many girls to worry about?

"I wanted to keep watch," Sheik said. "Thought it might be good to make sure we hadn't been followed. Just in case."

Malon hummed, pulling out a chair to sit down. "So you think you were followed?"

Sheik looked back out at the night, biting the inside of her cheek. "…Not exactly, no," she said. "Just thought it might be better to be safe than sorry."

"So you're risking falling asleep outside and makin' yourself an easy target for them if they do come?"

Malon's words made Sheik bristle, but she kept it hidden. "Someone's got to keep a lookout."

"And you think it's gotta be you." Malon smiled somewhat softer at her, and Sheik tensed in preparation for what she might say. "How about you sit down and get some dinner, hm? Link told me it's been a rough few days for you."

"I'm already recovered from it," Sheik said. "And I'm not all that hungry."

That soft smile didn't leave Malon's face. Whatever she was playing at, she was good. Two could play at that game, though, and Sheik decided not to let her win. So she looked away, trying to ignore the feeling of being watched.

"Well," Malon said, "I've got nothing else to do tonight. Would it be alright if I kept watch instead for a bit?"

Sheik clicked her teeth together. "I'll be fine, Malon. I don't need anyone else taking over for me."

"What if I wanted to keep watch for my own selfish reasons, hm?" Though Sheik was avoiding looking at her now, she could practically see the teasing smile on her face. "What if I just want the security of knowing that I'm watchin' out for everyone under my roof?"

 _Then I'd say to get in line_ , Sheik wanted to say. Instead, she just let out a slow exhale, trying to stay calm. "You'll be the only one fully capable of protecting them after Link and I leave tomorrow," Sheik said. "You need your rest."

"And you don't need any to protect the two of you while you're on the road?"

" _Hylia_ , you're just as bad as Link," Sheik muttered. "I'll be fine."

Malon looked her up and down, her eyes more shrewd than Sheik remembered. "I can't figure you out, Miss Sheikah," she finally said. "Do you _like_ not getting enough sleep?"

"No," Sheik said, finally turning fully towards her. "But someone has to keep watch."

"Both Link and I offered," Malon said. "And you refused both of us, hon. I'm just tryin' to get a good picture of what's goin' through your head, Sheik, that's all."

Sheik curled her hand into a fist. "I don't need anyone trying to _figure me out_ ," she said. "I just… I just need to keep watch."

Malon watched her for a while, indecision clear on her features. Finally, though, she stood, pushing the chair back where it went. "I'll get you some soup," she decided. "…Close the door, would you? You can sit by the window and watch from there, but you're letting in a draft, and a few of the girls complained about being cold earlier."

Sheik clicked the door shut, but immediately moved to stand by the window, opening the curtains and staring out. "You don't actually have to get me soup," she started, but when she turned back, Malon was already headed for the kitchen.

"If you're going to stay up all night worrying, then the least I can do is make sure you get something to eat." Malon sighed, shaking her head. "I just hope you know you're gonna worry your partner sick if you keep on like this. But far be it from _me_ to talk sense into either of you."

It didn't sound like Malon was happy about her choice—and Sheik wondered if she hadn't been meant to overhear that last bit at all—but Sheik supposed it could have gone worse. At least, she supposed, Malon hadn't sent Link after her.

* * *

The night passed slowly, without a trace of trouble, but Sheik stayed vigilant. It wasn't until half through the night that she heard any disturbance, and it was only the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Still, after so many hours of silence—after all, most everyone had gone to sleep _hours_ ago—Sheik startled.

Her muscles tensed, ready to attack, but she stayed her hand just long enough to get a good view of the intruder. To her relief, it was only Link. Her heart slowly calmed back down, but she remained frozen in place as she watched him descend the stairs.

"Why are you awake?" Sheik asked once he was further down, keeping her voice low so as not to wake anyone.

Link looked a little startled to hear someone talking, but he, too, calmed, then hurried down the stairs to talk more quietly with her. "I could ask you the same thing," he said softly, furrowing his brows. "I thought you'd go to bed after it was obvious no one followed us."

"We already talked about this," Sheik said. "Go back to bed, Link."

To her surprise, though, Link just shook his head. "I, uh, actually came down for some water," he said, but he wouldn't look her in the eye; Sheik could only assume he was lying.

"Then get your water and go back to sleep," she said. "I've got this."

Link let out a slow, steady exhale, finally just pulling up a chair to sit next to her. "Sheik. Maybe I just wanna sit with you for a while, you know?"

"And _why_ —"

"I have as much right to be here as you, Sheik," Link said. For the first time, Sheik realized just how tired he sounded. Yet as she looked at his eyes—wide awake, no trace of sleep in them—she wondered if he'd ever fallen asleep at all. "Can we not argue this time?" He reached for her hand, his warm, calloused palm comfortable against her own.

Sheik closed her eyes, resting them just for a moment to compose herself for what she knew she had to do.

He'd gotten too close to the truth before. She couldn't afford to have him get so close again.

If that meant pushing him away to keep her identity a secret, and, more than that, to keep Link _safe_ , then…

"Who's arguing?" Sheik said, voice cold and distant as she pulled her hand away. "I'm just keeping my post, Link. There's no point for you to be here when you could be getting some sleep. You'll be useless on the road if you're exhausted."

Part of her had expected him to be stubborn, to argue back, to at least show _some_ fire in his eyes. But instead, he just looked hurt.

"I… I'll leave you to it, then," he said, standing once more. "Wouldn't want to be _useless_."

It seemed the word had struck a nerve, but for the life of her, Sheik couldn't figure out why he seemed so upset. He had enough mysteries to him that she made a mental note of it anyways, though—and, moreover, made a note not to say it again.

As Sheik was debating whether or not to apologize for upsetting him—those hurt eyes would follow her through the night, she knew—Link caught her attention once more.

No matter how upset he seemed, or how wounded he'd looked, he hesitated before heading upstairs, a kind tone to his voice. Even if he seemed unsure of his words, he spoke them nonetheless. "Whatever I did to make you so angry," he said, "I'm sorry. Can we make up now?"

There was nothing more in the world Sheik wanted than to say yes. But her heart didn't control her—her brain did. And her brain reminded her of her secret, and of her carelessness, and of her plans to distance herself back to a simple partner. Link would be safer, that way—he wouldn't be so willing to sacrifice his safety for hers.

And partners, she bitterly reminded herself, didn't care about making up.

When Sheik didn't answer him, Link just let out a soft sigh and continued up the stairs.

* * *

In the morning, it didn't take long at all to pack up Epona.

Initially, Sheik had tried to pack extra for the girl that had insisted on going back to Solen with them. But as they got ready to go that morning, the girl, Fado, looked skittish.

Because Sheik had never been the best with kids—and this girl looked a few years younger than the rest—she left the talking to Link. As it turned out, she wasn't 'ready' to get back on the road. At first, she tried to ask that they wait another day before setting off, but one look at Sheik—more temperamental and closed-off than ever—and Fado nearly started crying.

In the end, it was Malon that calmed things down.

"You can always stay here, sweetheart," she said, taking the girl's hand. (Sheik avoided both Link and Malon's critical stares as Malon comforted the girl.) "We'll take good care of you, I promise."

After a few minutes, Fado agreed. Sheik wasted no more time on her. Instead, she turned and walked back to the horses, unloading the extra supplies.

Past that, they were on the road in just a matter of minutes, their goodbyes harshly abbreviated by Sheik's haste.

"You know," Link said, voice soft and almost soothing as he sat behind her on Epona. "We could have waited another day, Sheik. Might have even been good for us."

"No," Sheik said, not even turning to look at him. "It would have wasted _more_ time. This way, we're on the road and we can go as fast as we want without having to go slower for another person."

"Yeah, but… She's been away from her family for weeks, Sheik. We should have agreed to bring her, even if it would slow us down—and besides, I'm sure Malon could have rented us another horse. We'd probably go even faster if we had a second horse to split the luggage between, even if we did bring her along."

"We don't have the money for that, Link. Goddesses only know how we're going to pay for the trip to Ise, let alone coming back." Sheik tightened her jaw and stared forward, trying to suppress her worries over funding before she dwelled on it for too long. "Anyways, we came to save them from the warehouse, and we did. It's better that we leave them at Malon's till it's safe for them to travel."

"…That might be true, but…. Don't they get a choice?"

"We told them that if they wanted to set out for their homes, they could," Sheik said. "If they want to, they're free to go."

"But we won't help them," Link interjected, a frown in his voice. "Sheik…"

"We don't have _time_ to help them any more than we already have. We have to stay on the road and… and look for Zelda, Link. You know that."

Link sighed. "Zelda," he said, voice almost flat. "Right."

Sheik refused to ask what his tone meant. Instead, she focused on just riding forwards, back to Solen. She'd shut him out and been cold to him for the first few weeks she'd known him, after all. Surely it wouldn't be so hard to go back to that?

* * *

A full week had passed, and Sheik's resolve was crumbling.

Though Link had for the most part given up on making conversation, she could still see hurt in his eyes at the cold, distant way she spoke to him on the rare occasions she did talk.

She'd stopped sparring with him, stopped asking about his well-being, stopped communicating with him for anything other than to give him directions.

And Sheik was miserable because of it.

It wasn't just the loneliness, either. She'd dealt with loneliness for years—she could admit to it, now that she'd seen what it was like to have someone around her that she cared about. But if it was just loneliness, she was sure that she wouldn't have felt so awful.

No; when Sheik was being honest with herself, she knew she was only so miserable because Link was miserable.

He didn't say it, of course. He'd never been a complainer, and Sheik could respect that.

But she could see it in his eyes. Not just in his expression, either. He'd started regaining those circles around his eyes, and Sheik knew he spent much of the night away from his sleeping mat now that he didn't have sparring to wear him out.

The longer time went on, the less her secrets seemed to matter. But after a week of closing herself off from him, would Link even forgive her for it?

It had occurred to her more than once to just break her silence and go back to how things were before. Her heart absolutely ached for it, if just because she couldn't stand seeing her partner—her _friend_ —hurting.

But would Link even allow it?

Her head told her yes and her heart told her no; and though she knew her head was right in that he'd probably be overjoyed if she spoke with him again, her heart was right in that it'd be _wrong_.

Link deserved better than to be treated like dirt—and he especially deserved better than for her to go back to him the second she needed him. So she couldn't just go back to how it was. Not without an apology.

And, more than that, not without a plan to keep him from getting too close to the truth again. She knew she might have gone overboard in pulling away from him, but that didn't mean it would be okay for him to know her true identity. If she wanted to avoid pulling away again, then she'd have to be much, much more careful.

If it meant fewer conversations about anything important, so be it. But goddesses, she'd give anything to talk with him about _something_ again.

The thought ate away at her for the rest of the day. More than once, she found herself just on the verge of talking to him. But every time she opened her mouth, she couldn't find the words.

Later, she kept promising herself. Later, she'd talk to him.

But when later finally came and they stopped for the night, the words still wouldn't come.

She tried to force them—honestly, she did. But no matter how she tried to speak them, they were frozen in her mind. _Hey_ , she wanted to start, a thousand different times, a thousand different ways. _I'm sorry. Can I stop ignoring you now?_

But she knew Link would want an explanation.

And Sheik knew that no explanation that she gave would be the full truth. And after what she'd put him through the last week, the truth is what he deserved.

So Sheik fell into an uneasy sleep, the silence between them almost enough to keep her awake.

* * *

It was still dark when Sheik woke to twigs snapping only a few feet away from her head.

Her eyes flew open in an instant, and she sat up, poised and ready to strike. But no sooner than she'd sat up did she hear a quiet, fervent apology from Link.

"I'm—I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he said quickly, hurrying backwards and nearly tripping over his own feet in the dark. "I… I should've been quieter."

It took Sheik a moment to even recognize his voice in the dark, her heart and tense muscles still certain that there was a threat.

But as she looked at Link, his features slowly becoming clearer in the dark, Sheik slowly calmed. Even if he was hard to see, he wasn't a threat—not to her.

It was that thought that finally put things in perspective.

She was never going to tell him her secret, she knew—but he wasn't a _threat_. He wasn't someone to be feared, or someone that she should be so troubled by. He was her partner, and no amount of fear in the world should have made her push him away.

"It's alright," she said, keeping her voice soft. "Just… get back to sleep. It's late."

Link nodded, already starting to walk around her back to his own bed roll.

However, before he could get too far, Sheik reached out and took hold of his wrist.

"…Sheik?"

Sheik bit her lip. "Wait," she said. "I didn't mean… I didn't mean to make you leave by saying that."

Link didn't turn towards her, but she could feel his pulse in his wrist. She was tempted to let go of his hand, if just to not feel how tense and worked up he was. But she still needed him to stay.

Finally, Link answered her, hesitation clear in his voice. "…What did you mean, then?"

"I… I just meant that you shouldn't worry about it. It's not your fault that I'm a light sleeper. You don't have to apologize for waking me." She closed her eyes, desperate to find some way to continue, no matter her loss for words. "So don't… don't worry, okay?"

"Is that all?" Link still didn't look at her, voice distant and disappointed. "…Thanks, I guess. I, um. I think I should get to bed now."

"Wait, please. I know you're—I know you're probably tired, and angry with me, and—and I deserve it. But," she started. "I… About this last week, Link… I…"

Link was quiet, allowing her to sort through her thoughts. Sheik appreciated it more than he could know.

Finally, she took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment to compose herself, before letting it go in a slow, steady exhale. "I shouldn't have pushed you away," she said. "You… you deserve better than that. Much better."

Link's hand tensed, fingers abruptly curling into a loose fist. Sheik couldn't tell if he was startled, or upset, or trying to tell her to let go of him. She didn't let go, though—not even when she needed an answer so badly.

It seemed her partner had a lot on his mind, though, because he hesitated a long while before speaking. "…Why _did_ you shut me out, then, if I didn't deserve it?"

Sheik closed her eyes, shoulders drooping. "I…" she started, biting her lip. Link deserved the truth—and to know that the King's Daughter was sitting just behind him. But she supposed neither of them really got everything they deserved. A half-truth would be better than nothing, though, and finally she admitted to some of what had been bothering her for the past several days. "…I can't stop thinking about the warehouse," she finally admitted. "I should have seen that guard ahead of time. Cremia could have been killed—all those girls, and you, could've been killed because I didn't notice him till it was too late. What if there had been more of them in hiding? I couldn't… I couldn't live with myself if it was all for nothing. If… if someone had gotten seriously hurt?"

"…And what does that have to do with _me_?" Link's voice sounded pained, but he didn't give her a chance to answer him before he continued. "If you're blaming yourself for that, then why are you taking it out on me?"

"Because I thought it'd be easier to work together if you stopped thinking of me as anything more than a partner," Sheik blurted out. Realizing that what she'd said still hadn't answered him, she let go of his hand, hanging her head. "One of them almost got hurt because I wasn't smart enough to realize a guard was still hiding. But it's almost always just the two of us. What if I… What if I wasn't paying enough attention when it was just us, and you… what if you got hurt, because I…"

She could hear Link's footsteps, and she knew he was finally turning to look at her. But Sheik couldn't look him in the eye.

"If… I was that careless when there were that many girls to be looking after, then what do I do when it's just us? What would've happened if there was a guard outside of the warehouse? You would've been on your own, and, and," she said, voice growing steadily more panicked as she continued, "And you _always_ go after the bigger guards, and you—after that monster in Oxon, you almost…"

Sheik felt a calloused hand under her chin, prompting her to look up.

"Sheik," Link said softly. "I _trust_ you. You're not going to get me killed."

"You don't know that." Sheik looked away, pain clear on her face—if he could see it in the dark, that was. "One wrong move, and…"

Though Link hesitated, he finally relaxed a little more around her, choosing to sit next to her on her sleeping mat. "I do have the Triforce of Courage, you know," he said. "I don't think I'll be killed so long as I have it."

"And what if you're wrong?!" Sheik tightened her hands into fists, heart aching. "What if it's just been luck?"

"No one lives forever, Sheik."

Sheik drew her knees to her chest, then crossed her arms over them. "We can't think like that, Link. People are depending on us—on _you_. Whatever's going on, the goddesses wouldn't have sent out the Triforce of Courage into the world unless there was a need."

Despite Sheik's words, Link didn't look too bothered. Instead, he just angled his face towards the sky, a slight smile on his face. "Which is why I'm not worried, Sheik. If there's a plan for me, then I'm gonna live to see it through. I trust Farore to keep me alive, and you're helping out a lot, too, y'know. You're the one who got me red potion in Oxon, remember?"

Link's confidence scared her more than relieved her. But it would do no good to tell him not to trust so blindly—especially since she was so terrible at trusting anyone at all.

As Link watched the stars overhead, Sheik slowly unwound.

"It's a good thing you trust us so much, then," Sheik said, letting out a sigh as she raised her eyes to the sky and searched for her favorite constellations. "Must be nice."

Link stayed quiet, an unreadable expression on his face as Sheik finally looked over at him. But he quickly changed his expression, putting on a reassuring smile once he realized he was being watched. "…It is nice, yeah."

They sat in silence for a while, both absentmindedly searching for constellations. For the first time in a week, Sheik almost felt peaceful. She reveled in it, tense muscles finally, finally relaxing. But a yawn from Link finally broke the stillness, and the moment ended all too soon.

Realizing that how tired he was, Link seemed to decide it was time to go. "We should probably get to sleep," he said, looking at his sleeping mat. "We still have almost a week left on the road."

Sheik let out a deep sigh. "Yeah…"

"I'll get going," Link finally said, slowly standing. As he walked over to his sleeping mat, though, he paused, turning back towards her. "And, Sheik?"

She looked at him, wordlessly waiting for what he had to say.

"Next time, just tell me, okay? If you're that worried about something, I want to help you if I can. Even if I can't help, I… I at least want to know, so I can make sure you're okay."

Sheik looked away, training her gaze on the ground instead. "…I can't make any promises about that, Link."

"At least try to remember that the option is _there_ , then." Link managed a small smile, then sat down on his sleeping mat, pulling the blankets around him.

As they both settled down to sleep, Sheik knew in her heart she might never take him up on that offer. But… he was right about one thing.

It was kind of nice knowing that, if she ever did decide to be honest with him—about her worries and fears, at least—that he'd be there.

Sheik fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in over a week.

* * *

 **((Again, sorry this was so late! Doubly sorry that this is actually a little shorter than other chapters have been. Triply sorry that Sheik was so awful in this. And quadrupole sorry that this chapter was so awful in general. If I ever go back through and completely reedit or rework these, this chapter will probably get drastically reduced or deleted entirely… But part of why it's so short and late is because I was just like "what am I doing" this entire chapter. Anyways. I'm so sorry this chapter was so awful—but I'm not entirely sure how to fix it without just. Cutting out 80% of it (which would make this even later, since I'd have to add in even more scenes to make it long enough again).**

 **Hopefully some of you enjoyed at least small portions of this, but if not, I understand. Feel free to leave criticism in a review—I'd honestly love to hear how this mess could be cleaned up if I were to re-edit it. Thank you, and have a wonderful day!))**


	21. Chapter 21

**((Sorry for how late this is. If you checked this over the past week or so, you would have noticed a note on the summary stating that this fic was put on brief hiatus, so hopefully no one thought I just stopped updating for no warning. Life has been hectic but I managed to find some time between projects and classes and migraines to finish this. So, enjoy chapter twenty-one!))**

* * *

Within the remaining week's worth of travel to Solen, Sheik and Link had plenty of time to fall back into their old routines. However, though they had started to spar regularly again—a good thing, too, as the circles under Link's eyes had started to reappear—there was still a distance between them.

It wasn't a rift anymore, but there was still space.

And try as Sheik might, she couldn't understand why. More than that, she couldn't understand Link—not completely. She didn't blame him, of course—and she knew if it were her, she probably would have reacted far worse than he had. But this was Link, and Link had always been the more forgiving one between them.

She just wished she knew what he was still upset about so she could fix it.

But though Sheik had managed to take that first step in remedying the problems between them, she wasn't sure she could duplicate it. After being alone for so long, she knew she wasn't the best with handling people. She was stubborn, and prideful, and blunt, and far too prone to unforgiveness. Tact was something she needed to relearn, and it probably wasn't the best idea to try to figure it out while Link was still distant.

Perhaps he just needed to spend some time in Solen, Sheik wondered. No matter how close she and Link had become, she couldn't compare to the constant presence his friends and family had had in his life.

Sheik just hoped that they'd be able to actually help him. She wasn't sure if she could stand being held at arms' length any longer.

Soon, they reached the two-week mark of their journey and found themselves just hours from Solen but too tired to press on through the night. And so they settled camp early, Sheik taking advantage of the early-evening light. After checking a few times that Link wasn't going to pry—how could he, when he was across the camp-site and getting some well-deserved rest?—Sheik carefully pulled out the book Malon had given her.

It was with a somewhat giddy pleasure that she opened up the front cover and looked through the pages. The handwriting was somewhat messy, but legible, though it was written in an older dialect of Hylian. It'd take some deciphering, she realized as she came across phrases that had long fallen out of use. There were stains, too, and scribbled out marks with question marks near them. Sheik could only assume it was the work of the person copying it—perhaps the original words had been illegible. Still, no matter the difficulties, Sheik couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

Ever since she'd gotten the journal from Malon, she hadn't had time to read it. Though she would have loved to read it while on horseback, Epona's galloping made for difficult reading. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for Link to peer over her shoulder and find Sheik's name written in the book.

So now that she finally, finally, had the chance to read, Sheik wasted no time in curling up against the base of the tree their camp was centered on. Time to actually relax was a dream come true, and Sheik was determined to enjoy it as much as she possibly could for the time being.

* * *

It was nearly too dark to see when Sheik finally set the book down. Having been distracted with reading, she'd nearly forgotten where she was—even _who_ she was.

Though the story was from the Hero of Time's perspective, Sheik felt a strong kinship with his Sheikah guide. She supposed it was for good reason—she'd felt a connection from the first time Impa had ever told her the story.

Many a time, Impa had refused to tell her more when she asked. Sheik could still remember Impa's voice, gently chastising her for insisting on hearing it again.

" _Zelda,"_ she'd said _._ _"Come now—the other princesses are plenty interesting, don't you think?"_

" _But Sheik actually did stuff!"_

At the time. Impa's disapproving frown had made her quiet down a little, but not by much. _"Other princesses did things too, dear one. No one else was personally in as dire of a situation, that's all. They didn't have to dress up as a Sheikah to stay alive."_

Sheik bit her lip. The memory was enough to put her book in her knapsack for the time being, not wanting to get overly emotional while reading. After all, the last thing she wanted was for Link to ask why she was so upset. Sheik wasn't sure if she'd be able to find a good enough lie, or bend the truth to fit the situation.

Though most princesses never did take up a Sheikah disguise, Sheik knew better than to think none of them were ever in great personal danger. Had the original Sheik just had prior warning? There was so much about the story of the Hero of Time that no one knew. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Hyrule in those seven years when the Hero of Time wasn't present. What had Zelda (Sheik) been up to for all those years? What had become of the people?

Lost in thought, she didn't notice Link approach her.

"Finally done reading?" he asked, a small smile on his face as he sat down beside her. Sheik startled at his arrival, then carefully edged the knapsack away from him, lest he reach for it.

"For the time being, yes." Still somewhat on edge, Sheik pushed her mask back up above her nose. "It's quite difficult to follow at times—when I was first told the story, it had seemed much more straightforward."

Link looked genuinely curious, then scooted a little closer. Sheik wasn't sure if he was trying to be friendly, or trying to come back to the closeness they'd been a few weeks ago. Sometimes, it was hard to believe they'd ever been that close, even if it had been such a short time ago. Had they really slept next to each other? "Where'd you first hear it?"

"Impa," Sheik said, forcing herself out of her thoughts. "She… didn't like telling me, much. I think she didn't like how much I preferred that story to other stories."

"And… Impa was your teacher?" Link looked at her, something unreadable in his eyes. "Yours and Zelda's?"

Sheik faintly nodded her head, mentally reviewing her lie so she wouldn't get anything mixed up. "Yes."

"Why didn't she like telling you that story?"

Sheik let out a slow sigh, leaning back to rest on the heels of her hands. "I guess I always just loved the idea of a Sheikah aiding the legendary hero. I… wanted to be able to help save the world, not just—" She cut herself off before she could say something like 'not just get captured and need the hero to save me,' lest she tip him off about her identity. "—Not just be fated to protect the princess."

Link looked at her for a while, a slight frown on his face. "And… that's what Impa wanted you to do?"

Though Link couldn't see it behind her mask, Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, lips twisting into a grimace. Though she knew Impa had wanted her to go back to the castle, if Sheik had truly been a bodyguard, then she knew Impa would have wanted her to protect the princess. "I guess so, yeah. Never said it outright, I think, to spare my feelings, but… I think she had wanted me to just be a bodyguard. Just like the Sheikah have been for centuries." She looked away, trying to hide the pain of lying to his face. "Not that I mind—I mean, I'm glad to be looking for her. But… I want to help _everyone_. Not just Zelda." Sheik was quiet for a while, then finally shook her head. "I guess Impa didn't want to encourage me to—to go out and do something other than… my destiny. So she wanted to tell me stories of how great the princesses were, so I'd want to only focus on keeping Zelda safe. …Lot of good that did, huh?"

To her surprise, Link shifted closer, resting on the heels of his hands, too. The hand closest to her, however, reached out to rest over hers. "I'm sure Impa meant the best," he said. "I met one of her daughters, you know. Paz spoke very highly of Impa."

Sheik's heart stopped dead in her throat.

"Daughters?"

Link glanced over at her, surprised. "She had a life before she took on you and Zelda, you know," he said. "Two daughters. She never mentioned them?"

Sheik racked her brain for any mention of Impa's family, but came up short. "She never mentioned them—not to me or Zelda, or else I'm sure Zelda would have gone to them. And I—I would have probably gone to them to finish my training."

Link frowned a little. "Strange," he said. "But then, Paz never mentioned you, so… I guess Impa kept secrets on both sides."

Though those words felt strangely foreboding, Sheik forced herself to stay calm. She couldn't fish for information if she didn't seem casual, after all—Link would never believe that she was just curious if she made it seem like her entire life depended on it. "Who was Paz, exactly?" Sheik finally asked, keeping her tone as neutral as she could. "And—the other daughter. Did you meet her at all?"

"Well, I can't speak for the other daughter," Link said. "She died about… fifteen? Twenty years ago?" Link shrugged. "Paz only mentioned her once, so I can't remember exact dates. But Paz… Paz was pretty interesting. Took one look at me and told me I was destined for _something_."

Sheik furrowed her brows. "Destined?"

Link scratched the back of his neck, an embarrassed smile playing on his lips. "She's a Seer. A Sheikah one—some kind of magic, I guess. Took one look at me and outed me for having the Triforce of Courage. 'Course, she's also the one who concealed it, so I guess I have to thank her for that."

"And Impa didn't—she didn't think to send Zelda and me to Paz?" Sheik bit her lip, trying to suppress the confusion and hurt setting in. "If—if Impa had daughters, then…"

"Paz lives up in the mountains. Only came down to the castle at all 'cause she was a seer and knew I'd be coming," Link said, cutting her off before she could think too deeply on it. "All I know is she's something of a hermit. Talks your ear off if you'll listen, but otherwise keeps to herself."

Sheik didn't feel much better. "Impa should've told me," she said, closing her eyes. "I—instead of… spending all those years on my own, I…"

Her hands clenched into fists, but she forced the anger back down.

The last thing she needed was to blow up at Link for something he'd only been the messenger for.

Still, he noticed her anger, try as she might to suppress it. "Sheik?" he asked, voice soft and soothing. "Hey. It's alright. You made it, didn't you?"

"That doesn't make it right," she said. "I could've completed my training. I could've learned how to do everything, I could've—I could've avoided having to steal to get by. All those years—I could've… Why didn't she _tell_ me?" Sheik's throat became tight for a moment, but she forced the emotion down as far as it'd go. She hadn't cried since she was a child—and she sure as hell wouldn't cry now. "All these years, and I could've—I had to become this," she said, referring mostly to her name as 'Sheik,' though Link wouldn't know it. "Just to stay alive—and if she'd just told me, I…"

Trying her hardest not to lose control and say something that'd give her away, Sheik forced her mouth shut. Though her mask was on, she knew the angry slant to her eyes was enough to give her away—but then, she supposed her tone alone could've told him that.

Despite her frustration though, Link reached for her hand.

Sheik nearly flinched away, having grown unused to the contact in its absence. But Link held on, unabashed by the lack of reciprocation.

"Well," he said, neither pulling away nor letting go. "Even if she should've told you, I…" He hesitated, unable to make eye-contact. "…I don't mind the person you became, Sheik. You might not—and I'm—I'm probably not the best person to talk about a good track record, but… I think you could've become a whole lot worse."

"You don't know what I did before I met you." Sheik looked away, feeling entirely too exposed. No matter what masks she wore, somehow it felt as if Link was staring through all of them. Suddenly self-conscious, Sheik adjusted her mask, pulling the cowl higher over her face.

Link was quiet for a moment. But when he spoke again, there was something so soft in his voice that Sheik couldn't help but feel her heart beat faster. "Maybe not," he said. "But I'd like to."

He was close, now—too close, and Sheik knew if she didn't have her mask on, she might have leaned even closer, too.

But her mask reminded her of all she had to lose.

They'd gotten so close before—and Sheik found herself thinking back to those stolen moments. His hand felt right in hers, his broad fingers fitting perfectly between her own. And every time his lips met her skin, even if it was just against the back of her hand, Sheik knew she was falling deeper and deeper into _something_.

And, as he stayed so still and calm next to her, she knew Link was giving her a choice.

Whether they stayed partners and friends or moved into something different and terrifying, he was leaving it up to her. And for once in her life, Sheik wasn't sure if she could take the selfish option.

Just a few weeks ago, it would have been easy to refuse him. Refusing him meant she could keep her identity a secret without any extra guilt—and there was a much smaller chance of him ever finding out. But could she do that to him?

If it was just refusing him because she felt nothing, Sheik would have been able to do it.

But this was something she didn't want to lie about—didn't _have_ to lie about.

Sheik's heart was lodged firmly in her throat.

After a long moment, Link finally looked away, turning his face away from her even though he kept his hand in hers.

"It's getting late," he said, looking up at the sky. "I—I can start on the fire, if you'd like."

Sheik stayed still and silent for another moment, till finally Link stood, ready to pull away. He almost succeeded, too—and he would have, if not for Sheik's sudden grip.

"Wait," she said, voice so small and uncertain that it hardly sounded like her own. "…I…"

Link stilled in front of her, either unable or unwilling to move.

"If it's alright with you," Sheik finally managed, "I'd… like to know more about you, too."

It wasn't a kiss—it didn't even acknowledge her feelings. But as she looked up at Link, she knew she'd at least taken a step in the right direction.

Link smiled, eyes crinkling as he looked at her. "I'd like that," he said. But feeling the chill of the night, he shivered, glancing down at the circular pit he'd dug for that night's fire. "We should probably save it for another night, though."

Sheik nodded. "I'll get some more firewood," she said. "Get some sleep. I can take it from here." As she got up though, she felt Link's hand tighten around her own. And before she could pull away to get busy collecting firewood, Link had pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a sweet, gentle kiss against it.

Finally, finally, it seemed they'd come back to where they'd left off.

She just prayed nothing would prompt her to pull away again.

After all, Link deserved better than that. And because she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to give him a proper explanation… Perhaps it was best, for now, that they took things slow. The last thing she wanted was to pull away after they'd come even closer.

* * *

When they arrived in Solen the next day, Sheik was more than ready for a long bath and some rest. As luck would have it, they returned to the bar in the early evening—just in time for dinner. After so long on the road, Sheik wished they could stay in Solen for a few nights, but…

Even as she considered it, her conscience wouldn't allow her.

They had to go to Sarin and Ise next, and free the young women waiting there.

Still, it wasn't as if they could go out without supplies, and the markets were already closed for the evening. There was no shame in enjoying the time they had. So Sheik ran a hot—almost too hot—bath and brought her book along with her. No matter how much Link prompted her, she wouldn't give up her bath for all the food in the world.

(Admittedly from the sounds of it, they were practically having a feast downstairs. But Sheik was content in the water, and all she wanted to do was read and relax.)

It wasn't till a few hours later that the water had cooled too much to enjoy anymore, and Sheik reluctantly rested the book on a shelf nearby. It was times like these that she wished, more than ever before, that she knew how to use the power of fire. Useful as ice was, it couldn't reheat water. So Sheik sighed and finished washing before the water got too cold, nevertheless refreshed from the length of her soak.

It wasn't till she was dried and half-dressed that she realized Link had returned. Unbothered by her visible skin, Sheik didn't attempt to dry her suit after washing it. She let it air dry, happy enough to stay in her training clothes for the meanwhile. Her hair resisted drying, though, and she resorted to letting a towel rest around her shoulders so she wouldn't soak her underthings.

As she walked through the door, though, she was immediately greeted by the smell of a well-cooked meal. It took a moment to spot what was giving off that beautiful smell, but finally Sheik spotted it—a plate resting on a shelf half across the room.

"…Saving some for later?" Sheik asked, raising a brow at Link, who already looked half-asleep on top of the bed. At her entrance though, he sat up, looking perplexed. "…The food, I mean."

Somehow, Link still seemed confused. "Oh," he finally said, shaking his head. "It's yours. Figured you'd rather stay up here 'stead of having to head down to grab something."

The thoughtfulness surprised Sheik more than she was willing to let on. Though Link was certainly kind, actions like those managed to catch her off guard more than even physical affection. "…I see," she finally managed. Deciding not to let it go to waste, she walked over to it, hyper-aware of Link's eyes on her. It wasn't till she'd turned back towards him that she had any idea of what she was supposed to say to him. "Thank you, I think?"

A small smile appeared on his face. "You think?"

"You didn't have to do it," Sheik said, praying that her face wasn't as warm as it felt. "I just—…thanks."

Link nodded, an amused smile still on his face. But he stayed quiet, choosing to spare her any further embarrassment.

Sheik ate in silence, occasionally glancing up at her companion. Though the room was quiet, it was peaceful—the tension from the last few weeks gone completely. Occasionally, Link met her eyes, but he never lingered, always glancing away after a moment.

For the life of her, Sheik couldn't understand what he was looking at her for—but then, she was half to blame if she was looking up at him, too.

"You going to take a bath before bed?" Sheik asked, finally addressing him. "It's getting late, and we have to spend most of tomorrow looking for supplies."

Link merely nodded, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah—I—probably a good idea." He hesitated a moment, something strange in his tone when he spoke again. "Which bed are you going to take?"

Sheik glanced at the one he was sitting on, figuring he'd be taking that one. Not wanting to be rude, she gestured to the other. "That one, I guess, but I don't really have a preference. So long as I can get some decent sleep, I'm happy anywhere."

There was a long pause before Link spoke again. "Right," he finally said. "I—yeah, probably a good idea."

For the life of her, Sheik didn't know what he was trying to get at. But not wanting to embarrass him, she just shrugged a shoulder and started for the bed she'd claimed as her own. "You can take whichever, you know. I mean—it really doesn't matter to me where you sleep—so long as it's in a bed while we're here."

There was almost palpable relief in his face.

Sheik couldn't help but wonder if that meant he wanted to sleep somewhere else.

Still, she didn't press the issue, instead just slipping under the covers. "Just don't be loud when you're coming out of the bath," she said. "I'm a light sleeper."

"I know," he said, a small smile on his face. It was almost _fond_ ; Sheik couldn't wrap her head around it. Abruptly, Link stood, then headed for the bathroom.

Soon, Sheik heard running water, and between the white noise and her full stomach, she easily slipped off to sleep.

* * *

She woke to the sound of the door opening. As light of a sleeper as she was, she knew it wasn't Link's fault he'd woken her, so she kept her eyes closed, unwilling to admit she'd woken so easily. However, despite her closed eyes, Link approached her.

For a moment, Sheik wondered if he was approaching her because he knew he'd woken her. An apology was just on her lips till she felt a soft, warm touch across her hairline.

Sheik froze.

More than anything, she prayed that he couldn't feel her rapid heart rate, lest he know she'd woken. But she stayed perfectly still, careful not to let faster breathing give her away.

He didn't touch her directly again, but Sheik did feel the covers being pulled higher over her, till they reached her shoulders once more.

Despite the extra warmth, Sheik felt a shiver run down her spine.

Link lingered nearby for a while longer, not saying a word. But finally he seemed to decide on something, and he went back to his own bed. A few minutes passed till his breathing evened and deepened, and Sheik was sure he was asleep.

It was only then that she turned to face him, eyes bright in the darkness.

Her partner didn't stir, so Sheik was left alone with her thoughts. And goddesses, she couldn't stop them from running through her mind.

For a moment, she wondered if that was what Link had been getting at earlier, with how nervous he'd been about which bed she had wanted. Had all that standing around been Link wondering if he was welcome in her bed?

But no matter his wondering, he'd ended up in his own.

Something like disappointment settled onto Sheik. For the life of her, she didn't know why.

Sheik ended up staring at the ceiling for a long while before sleep finally found her again.

* * *

When morning came, she'd nearly forgotten the incident. But then she woke up and dressed, and when she looked over at Link, she couldn't ignore him. He was impossibly tangled in his sheets; almost comically so. Though his feet and legs were covered—and twisted up within the sheets—his whole upper torso exposed to the chilly morning air, belly rising and falling with each breath. Though she knew he was about to wake, Sheik narrowly stopped herself from covering him and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Sheik supposed she couldn't blame him for his actions when she had been so close to doing the same. But then, she had more of a right to, didn't she? Link's face was far sweeter. And though she'd never seen her own face while she slept, she knew she couldn't have had as gentle of an expression as Link had.

But before she could dwell on it—and before Link could wake to find her staring at him—Sheik shook off her sentimentality. Between shopping for supplies and making sure Epona was well enough to travel—two more weeks on the road was hardly easy for her—Sheik had no time to dwell on the innocence of Link's face.

No matter how distracting he was, she resolved to avoid the temptation.

So as she finished getting ready, she sat with her back to him. Fortunately her braid was the last thing she needed to do, and as soon as she finished, she could slip out.

Even if it was just for a few minutes more, she supposed he could get a little more sleep—if just a little.

So Sheik crossed to the door and closed it softly, making sure not to wake him with any sudden noises. From there, she went down to breakfast, reacquainting herself to the quiet little tavern. It had been noisy last night when they'd returned, which suited Link just fine. As for her, Sheik was grateful for the quiet.

Loud taverns had been easier to deal with while she was young. In times when her identity was most in question, she'd always felt safest in crowds. After all, in crowds, she could disappear. She could trail behind adults and appear as someone's daughter—or look like a lost child, or a child tasked with bringing someone their drink. In crowds, she could be anyone, so her identity didn't matter.

But then she'd grown into the Sheikah ensemble Impa had left her, and she found that she stuck out far too often. And yet, she wouldn't wear anything else.

Between her height, her outfit, and her long blonde braid, crowds were no longer half as safe as they once were. But Sheikahs carried an authority with them. And once crowds were no longer safe, presenting herself as a figure of importance worked to keep her safe better than she ever could have imagined.

Not to mention when she really needed to hide, the suit was flexible and allowed her to walk quietly and contort herself into any position to stay hidden.

And yet, sometimes, it was nice not to do any of those things. Sometimes, Sheik liked not having to disappear into crowds, or claim authority where she had none, or twist herself into the shadows.

Sometimes she liked being able to enjoy a quiet morning, exactly how she wished.

So that morning, Sheik elected not to put up her mask. She'd need to eat later, anyways, and… Was it so wrong for her to show her face?

No one knew what the princess looked like, after all. No one had seen the princess in years. Plenty of girls probably looked more like the peoples' idea of the princess than Sheik. Between her height and her dark skin, she looked more Sheikah than Hylian—and that wasn't even counting her red eyes.

She knew, though, that she couldn't release her eye glamour, no matter how irritating it was to apply it every morning. It had been her morning routine for years now—ever since she was quite young. But that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

For the first time in her life, she wondered if she could really keep up the charade forever.

She was Sheik now, as far as she was concerned. But just because she was Sheik didn't mean she didn't have blood of the royal family flowing through her veins. Just because she was Sheik didn't mean she didn't have the Triforce of Wisdom, wherever it might be hiding within her. Just because she was Sheik didn't mean she didn't have hundreds of monsters searching for her.

And just because she was Sheik didn't mean she had any right to keep lying to Link.

Sheik closed her eyes, frustration setting in. No matter what she had been thinking about these past few weeks, somehow, it all came back to Link.

"Having trouble there, miss?"

Telma's voice startled Sheik, and she nearly toppled backwards. She'd been so lost in thought that she'd almost forgotten she was in public. And without a mask to conceal her expressions, who knows what faces she'd been making in the interim. Sheik's cheeks burned, but fortunately Telma didn't hold it against her.

Sheik gulped. "I—I didn't realize anyone else was up yet," she said, sitting upright once more. "I thought everyone else was still asleep."

"Well, it is barely after dawn," Telma said. She put a hand on her hip, a slight smile on her face. "What're you so lost in thought about so early, hm?"

Sheik instinctively glanced up at the stairs, where Link was still sleeping in their shared room. She only looked for a moment, but she knew Telma had caught her gaze. In an instant, Sheik looked down at the countertop instead, praying she wasn't being as obvious as she felt. "…I—the trip coming up. And supplies. The supplies are up with Link, but he's still asleep. I'd—I'd go up and check again to see what all we have, but I'm—it's, I don't want to wake him."

Never before had she felt so out of sorts. But one way or another, she felt caught.

The stuttering alone gave her away, and she knew it. Unwilling to look Telma in the eye, she kept her eyes trained on the countertop, praying that the tavern owner wouldn't press the issue.

But it seemed the goddesses weren't looking favorably upon her that day, because she felt Telma's fingertip under her chin. Soon, Sheik's face was drawn up, forced to look her in the eye.

"Tell me," she said. "Do you have feelings for Link or not?"

If Sheik's face had been warm after her stuttering, it was fiery after being asked such a pointed question. And yet for all the directness Telma had asked with, Sheik couldn't find an answer.

Panic set in, and Sheik quickly pulled the woman's hand away. "I—what kind of a question… What does it matter, if—?"

"Have you told him?" Telma put both hands on her hips, eyes narrowing as she tried to read Sheik's expression. "Whether you do or don't, he deserves some honesty with your feelings, honey."

Seeing there was no escaping the conversation save for physically getting up and walking away, Sheik visibly deflated. She leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her head in her hands. Voice so soft she could hardly believe it was coming from her own lips, she finally managed to speak. "We're—we're just taking it slow," she said. "I—I don't want to rush into anything with him. I've never… there's never been anyone else I've… And the last thing I'd want is to ruin things by going too fast… Especially with _him_."

To her surprise, when she trailed off, Telma didn't prompt her to continue. "So, you do care for him, then," she said, voice far gentler than it had been. "I'm glad to hear it."

Sheik let out a long sigh. "I've never wanted—I've never been interested in that sort of relationship before. Never been able to have one, either," she said. Though she meant it because of her life on the run, she knew Telma would take it as a mark of her Sheikah servitude to the King. After all, Sheikah were known to never start relationships, as per order of the king. Their service was always and only to the Royal Family.

So unless a Sheikah fell in love with their royal charge, and that royal reciprocated, they were forbidden from ever taking a lover.

Telma hummed, leaning forward to pat her hand. "Well, honey, taking it slow is probably a good idea, then. Figure out whether you'll be good for each other or not."

Sheik bit her lip. "I think we are. We…" she hesitated a moment, unsure how to put it into words. "We balance each other out."

To her surprise, Telma smiled. She glanced up in the direction of Link's room, just a hint of amusement in her eyes. "I think these past weeks have been good for him. Believe it not, he's prone to…" She paused, as if debating something with herself, then continued, "…Well, I shouldn't be the one to tell you about that. If he tells you, be honored, honey. But," she said, voice just a bit sharper, "If you abandon him—or lie to him, or manipulate him… I'm warning you, Sheikah. I won't forgive you any more than he will."

Never before had Sheik been threatened over a relationship. But, if things were as bad as Telma said—and Sheik wondered just how many secrets Link was hiding—she wouldn't protest.

No matter how far she pushed back her own feelings, Sheik didn't want to trample on Link's. He was many things—and part of her still hadn't forgiven her for how he'd shoe-horned his way into her life—but he didn't deserve to be hurt.

Sheik nodded at Telma, pressing her right palm against her left shoulder, the Sheikah stance for an oath. "I won't," she promised. "You have my word. No matter how things end, I will do my best to never hurt him."

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Telma smiled, though her warning still lingered in the air, and in the corners of her smile. "Just remember that, honey."

Appetite gone, Sheik pushed away from the counter. Somehow, she didn't think she'd be forgetting that threat anytime soon. Still… as sick as Sheik felt from it, she couldn't really blame Telma for being protective. So as she started towards the stairs, she lingered, turning her head to say one last thing to the woman. "I may not know him as well as I'd like yet, but… From what I know, I'm glad he had you to look out for him."

With that, she headed up to the room she and Link shared.

* * *

Despite her care not to wake him, just a few minutes into the room, and Sheik heard Link stirring. It was half an hour past dawn, though, which certainly counted as sleeping in compared to the last several weeks.

The extra rest seemed to have put him in a better mood than usual, too. When Sheik looked over her shoulder at the sound of rustling sheets, she found Link sitting up and looking at her with a smile.

"Morning," he said, leaning back on his palms. "Been up for a while?"

Sheik nodded. "Long enough. We have a lot to get done today, and not enough time to do it all. Food, supplies, winter gear—and all the rope we lost in Tal from fighting that dragon."

"We left a lot of the winter gear here before we set out to Marr," Link reminded her, still not getting up yet. "Though we'll probably have to find more blankets and extra cloaks… I don't really have any, and you could use some extra." When Sheik just quirked her lips into a frown as she thought it over, Link added, "Those clothes don't look like they keep you very warm, Sheik. And autumn's turning to winter anyways—even when we get back, it'll be colder on the road."

Though she would have liked to protest it, she knew there was no denying it. All the strength in the world wouldn't help them if they froze to death. And, unfortunately, her gift with ice wouldn't help much when it was cold to begin with.

"Fine," she said. "We'll get more cloaks. But we need to replace the money as soon as we can, or we might not be able to keep this up."

Link nodded, finally standing up when Sheik went back to sorting through their supplies. He knelt beside her, still mostly undressed, though it didn't seem to bother him as he helped her catalogue the gear.

He often sparred in such clothes, of course, but somehow in the light of the morning it felt different. Sheik forced herself not to acknowledge the heat in her cheeks.

Though Telma's conversation had made her wary of starting anything she couldn't handle, at the same time, it had forced her to reexamine her relationship with her partner. And she knew without a doubt, now, that there was more to it than she'd been willing to admit.

Half of her wanted to reach over and kiss him right then, but she had enough restraint to hold herself back. Sheik wasn't sure how long that self-restraint would last, though. It was only a matter of time before one of them breached that wall between them.

Already she'd seen what it was like to push him away and to live her life with him at arm's length. And more than ever before, she knew that she didn't want to live that way.

Still, she'd gotten too close, and there was no denying that it had been a mistake as far as her past self was concerned.

Her priorities were supposed to lie with her identity, and with keeping herself safe above all else.

…But then, she knew that seeking out the missing girls wasn't exactly keeping her safe, either.

And if letting Link get too close was a mistake…

Well, no one was perfect.

Still, as she glanced back over at him, he seemed somehow unattainable. It would have been easy—too easy—to reach out and take his hand. She knew she could pull him close and kiss him if she so chose. But she'd been honest when she'd told Telma she wanted to take things slow.

The last thing she wanted was to get too close and, abruptly, find herself alone again.

After years of being alone and then meeting Link—warm, vibrant, sweet, worrier Link—she wasn't sure she could handle it.

So she held her hand back, kept it from taking his into her own.

Next time, she told herself. Maybe next time.

And so, avoiding Link's curious look, she abruptly stood and crossed the room. "I'm getting breakfast," she decided. "Is there anything you want?"

"To join you," Link replied, standing up and turning to face her. "Hold on just long enough for me to get dressed, okay? You might be used to this," he said, gesturing mildly to his bare middle, "But I don't think Telma or Ilia are. It's probably for the best if, um. I don't go out looking like this."

Sheik suppressed a smile. Even though she'd been so intent on going downstairs alone to take a break before she did anything she might regret…

Somehow, Link knew exactly what to say to convince her otherwise.

"You have five minutes," she said, leaning against the doorframe. "I won't wait up for you past that."

Though Link rolled his eyes, he played along anyways, hurrying to get re-dressed and tie his hair up. It was getting longer, Sheik noted—much longer than it had been when they first met. But then, she supposed neither of them had really had time for a haircut with how busy they'd been on the road.

As if afraid Sheik meant it when she said she'd leave without him, Link was still tugging on one of his boots as he hurried over to her. Because of his distraction, though, he nearly tripped over a satchel lying on the ground.

Sheik reacted on instinct, catching hold of his shoulder and propping him back up.

"Sorry," Link said, attempting unsuccessfully to hide his smile. "I, uh. Was just trying to hurry."

Sheik huffed, not even dignifying it with a real response. Instead, she let him lean on her while he tugged his boot on all the way. "C'mon," she said once he was ready. "I think Telma's starting breakfast."

* * *

Once Sheik had a decent breakfast in her stomach for the first time in weeks, she felt much more ready to face the markets. Though supply-hunting had never been something she enjoyed, it was much easier to deal with when she wasn't starving.

And, perhaps more than that, it was easier to shop for supplies with Link beside her.

While they tended to cover more ground separate, the markets were starting to look more and more like Ecchar and Marr. Fewer girls were out in public, and Sheik had a faint feeling of being watched. Though she couldn't feel magical energy nearby, the bartender at Ecchar hadn't been magical, either, and he'd still been willing to kidnap innocent young woman.

So instead of splitting up this time, Link stayed with Sheik, and they simply upped their pace to get everything before sunset.

In all, it wasn't a particularly eventful day, but after so much chaos happening in Hyrule, Sheik appreciated the calm. It was a relief to not have to worry about her safety or the safety of others, even for just a few hours.

But then the sun started to set and they headed back to Telma's to set everything down, and Sheik couldn't help but let her worries sink in again. They had a job so much more important than her own needs—it wasn't fair for her to spend a whole day just taking it easy when they could be looking for clues.

"We should see Ravio," she said as she set her bags down in their room. (She didn't envy Epona in the least for the load she'd be carrying to Ise.) "He might have some more information, you know?"

Though Link looked a bit surprised at the suggestion, he nodded. "It'd be nice to see him before we set out again," he said. "At least his business has been going well… With all the soldiers away to the desert, people trade freely with him. So there's a good chance he's got information, yeah."

Sheik sat down by the supplies, already starting to rearrange them for how they needed to be tomorrow. Still, upon remembering the information she'd heard last time, she found herself too distracted to get much done. "He… might even have some more information on Kakariko, too," she said. Sheik pressed her lips together, expression hidden behind her mask. "I still can't believe it's just…"

Link's expression softened immediately, and he sat beside her. "We won't know for sure 'til we're there for ourselves," Link said, trying to reassure her. "Maybe it's just invisible, yeah? If they could make that jewelry box at Tal invisible, then maybe they can do the same with Kakariko."

"Invisibility spells are incredibly strong, though…" Sheik shook her head, something about the explanation not sitting right with her. "Kakariko is where Zelda was hidden, too. So for someone to single _Kakariko_ out and do something so different to it… I—I don't know what it means, exactly, but… I feel like their intention is… Different. Especially since… I—I don't know, I just get the feeling that it's not like the others."

Link didn't say anything for a while, simply sitting beside her in silence. But finally, he took hold of her hand, pressing a quick kiss to the back of it. "We'll figure it out, okay?"

Though Sheik didn't look completely convinced, she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she nodded and sat closer, willing her heart to beat slower. "I just need them to be alright," she said. "I haven't seen any of them in years, but… I did live there. It was my home. For them to just suddenly vanish… I—The last time I was there, I'd…"

When Sheik hesitated, Link turned to look at her, surprised to find just how guarded she looked as she cut herself off.

But she supposed if he'd told her his past, she might as well share what she could of her own. "I'd… The last time I was there, I'd just stolen a small fortune from Castle Town and was hiding there because it was close." She pressed her lips into a thin line, avoiding eye contact. "That—that was why I was in Solen in the first place, the day I met you. I'd just pawned them off to Ravio."

Several seconds of silence passed. Sheik found she couldn't look him in the eye. But despite that, she could practically feel Link's stare boring into her. No matter what she'd been expecting, though—harsh words? irritation? anger?—she had in no way been expecting him to smile. It was small, of course—and still fit the tone of the conversation—but it surprised Sheik more than she could say.

Link quickly shook his head when she met his gaze. "No—no, sorry, I know you're being serious. But—I was so _convinced_ you were one of the King's Sheikah when I first met you. But you were only there because of… and that's how you knew Ravio, and… Goddesses, it's hard to believe that of all things, that's the reason we met in the first place."

Though she was grateful he hadn't been angry, Sheik wasn't entirely sure what to feel. Maybe a few months ago—even just a few weeks, even—she might have been worried or confused, but… To see a smile on her partner's face, and to know she caused it…

It set her at peace, and she welcomed the distraction from dwelling on Kakariko.

"You were being attacked by a group of Soldiers," Sheik reminded him. "No matter what I'd just been doing, I would've been glad to help you." Before he could look too giddy, she continued, "Less because I wanted to help you specifically, and more because I'm not fond of the soldiers."

Link's lips twitched, and she could tell he was suppressing a laugh. "I'm pretty sure they thought you were working for the king and could get them exiled."

Sheik rolled her eyes, leaning just a bit against his shoulder. "Laugh all you like, but you fell for it, too."

Link just grinned. "Yeah, alright, maybe I deserved that." As his laughter died down, he moved a little closer to her. "It's pretty amazing how we even crossed paths, though… And that you can get people to believe you're an agent of the king just because of how you look." A curious expression passed his face, and he looked up at her, brows slightly furrowed. "I'm curious, though… How'd you get the idea to continue to do that? Looking like a King's Sheikah, I mean. There are plenty of dark-skinned Hylians… and you've changed your eyes to green before, haven't you? You could probably pretend to be anyone… Isn't it a lot of work to keep the appearances of a Sheikah?"

The question was a little too close to home for Sheik's liking. She shrugged a shoulder, trying to look impassive. It helped that she was wearing her mask, though she had to work to hide the panic in her eyes. "I… This is one of the few things I had left of Impa," Sheik admitted, gesturing to the outfit. "…I didn't want to part with it. If that meant having to struggle a little more, then so be it. But…" She shrugged a shoulder. "It's not as tough as you might think. People don't like to give Sheikahs trouble." And, remembering that she was supposed to actually be a full blooded Sheikah, she added, "Besides, it's… it's my culture. I'm not just going to set it aside if it's tough sometimes."

Link looked at her a moment, as if debating something. But he seemed to think better of it and nodded instead. "Makes sense. I don't think I'd handle it very well if I was raised a Hylian and had to pretend to be a Gerudo or something."

The image of Link in the traditional Gerudo clothes made Sheik smile unbidden. "The outfit would look nice on you."

"The Gerudo King's armor?" Link blinked, clearly confused by the word 'nice.' "I dunno, all we have of that is portraits of the final battle for Hyrule, and it always looked—"

"The Gerudo women's clothes. The pants, anyways," Sheik interrupted, just a hint of a smirk on her face. "I think their actual armor was more practical, anyways. History books always say that the Iron Knuckles were fierce warriors."

For a moment, Link looked mollified—but then he caught onto what she'd said. "But you meant their casual clothes when you said that." Link's voice was deadpanned, as if he couldn't quite believe her. "I'm not— _Sheik_ , the idea of wearing… _that_ —"

Sheik rolled her eyes. "Link. Relax. I'm not going to buy you an outfit and expect you to wear it. It was just a…" She was about to say 'joke,' but then realized she quite meant it. Maybe not the extravagant bead-work, but the exposed midriff, and the loose pants… "Just a thought," she finally said. "No need to get so defensive."

"A thought," Link repeated. He looked at her for a moment before a small smile worked his way across his face. "…So you were _thinking_ about it, then."

Sheik abruptly stood and started for the door. "We should get to Ravio's before it gets late," she said. "Wouldn't want to keep him up."

Link seemed to be having trouble keeping the grin off of his face. But to Sheik's relief, he didn't say anything more about the Gerudo-style outfit. Still… A part of her felt as if she'd shared too much—and the rest of her was grateful because of it.

It was getting too easy to relax around him. The most frightening part, Sheik thought, was that she didn't mind it at all.

* * *

At night, Solen was somewhat more intimidating than before. She could never remember the streets being so empty… or the constant feeling of being watched. Worse, now that there weren't people milling around the streets, she swore she could feel a low presence of magical energy within the city—but it was too weak and too distant for her to place it.

She stuck closer to Link as they walked to Ravio's.

When they arrived, Ravio looked more than pleased to see them. No sooner than they'd been invited inside—with the door swiftly shut behind them—did Ravio sweep Link into a huge, hard hug.

"It's been weeks, buddy, did you even think to write?" Ravio asked, though from how hard he was squeezing the shorter male, it was a wonder he expected him to speak.

Once he finally let Link go, Link laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Missed you, too," he said. "Didn't have much time to write, though. We, uh…" He gestured to Sheik. "We've had a busy past few weeks. Went all the way to Marr, and Tal, too. We, um. Well. We did what we came there to do. The girls were set free and moved elsewhere, where they'll be safe."

"Hold on a minute—you really did it?" Despite the alarm on Ravio's face, there was a tinge of pride, too. "You saved them?"

"Well, I mean," Link started. "Sheik did a lot of it. She took down an entire dragon at Tal—"

"And would have gotten myself killed if he hadn't stepped in," Sheik said, cutting him off before he could downplay his own bravery. "And again at Marr, actually. I couldn't have done any of it without him."

Ravio looked between them, eyes lingering on Sheik in particular. Something like recognition flickered in his eyes, but whatever it was he was thinking, he kept to himself. Instead, he merely patted Link on the shoulder and took a few steps back. "So, any reason the two of you came back to visit me? Somehow, I'm not getting the feeling you'll be in the city for long."

"Information," Sheik said. Looking at Link's wince at her curt words, she added, "Though I wouldn't be opposed to staying for longer, if you'd permit it."

"' _If I'd permit it_ ,'" Ravio said. "Listen, Miss Sheikah, I'm more than happy for the two of you to pop on by for a visit whenever you can. Been lots of times I thought both of you were goners."

An embarrassed blush spread across Link's face. "We'll try not to worry you next time," he said quickly. "I'm sorry for not thinking about how it must feel for you—"

Sheik, however, was having none of it. "Our priority is the safety of the girls being kidnapped," she said. "We don't have time to write letters and we have no place to mail them from. Don't expect us to send anything to you while we're on the road." When she saw the look on Link's face, though, she sighed and added, "But we tend to pass through Solen every few weeks. We only took so long away from here recently because it's more than a two week journey just to get to Marr."

"So I should only worry if you're gone for more than a month, then," Ravio said. He bit the inside of his cheek, but though he looked conflicted, he shrugged his assent. "Well. I can't stop you. Wouldn't _want_ to, either—I just wish it wasn't people I _knew_ that were saving Hyrule."

"I don't know about _saving_ it," Link said. "We're mostly supposed to be looking for the Princess, that's all."

Sheik didn't contradict him. As Ravio pulled up a table and chairs for them to sit at, she took a seat, though her posture was stiff despite the calm atmosphere. Information, she reminded herself. They'd come for information. "Do you have anything new to tell us?" Sheik prompted once everyone was seated. "About the King's Daughter or otherwise?"

Ravio sighed. "Not sure how much of it'll be new," he said. "Still got some weird news from Ise and Marr, mostly, though I'll expect that Marr's doing better now since the two of you went there?"

Link shook his head. "I don't know if it's actually better," he admitted. "Only a few girls were actually from Marr. The rest were from other cities. We hardly did anything about the actual _kidnappers_ in Marr."

"We took out an entire warehouse," Sheik said. "I think that counts as 'doing something.'"

"An entire warehouse?" Sheik and Link both looked at Ravio, who was staring at the two of them with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me you went into a warehouse and killed everyone inside?"

"Most of them were monsters, not Hylians," Sheik said. Defenses immediately raised on behalf of her conscience, and she continued, "They were holding girls captive. I don't feel sorry for the Hylians that were there, either."

Link leaned over to whisper in Sheik's ear. "I think he was impressed, not judging you."

The defensive look on Sheik's face lingered anyways.

Ravio, however, sat back heavily in his chair. "Dear goddesses above, I wish you hadn't told me that, honestly. Do you usually take down entire warehouses?"

The pair looked at each other for a moment, neither willing to confirm or deny. Because, truth be told, though they hadn't taken down more than one, it wasn't as if they'd hesitate to do it again.

"We came for information," Sheik finally said. "You should tell us what you know."

Ravio nodded, not protesting her abrupt subject change. "Right, right. Alright, like I said, not a whole lot of it's new. But I figure you guys might like to know about what happened to Ecchar."

Link sat forward in his seat. "There's been word?"

"Buddy, it's a three day trip and you've been gone from there for more than a month. 'Course there's been word." At Link's urgent look, Ravio smiled a little. "Alright, alright—it's good news for the most part, I'll tell you that. The people were livid hearin' what had happened to their girls, and once they knew about the hidden tunnels under the city, it was all over for the whole business."

"…And, what about—what about the higher-ups?" Link asked. "And… You know. –Have you… gotten any word from her?"

Ravio shook his head. "Haven't heard from her in years, buddy, you know that. She's not gonna get back on speaking terms with me just because her organization crashed."

"…But she's going to think you told people about the tunnels," Link said. "She could come for you any day and try to get revenge."

"If she does, I have plenty of alibis. Lots of customers, lots of receipts. I haven't left this city in years, buddy—and I don't pass on word to customers." He glanced at the two of them, then quickly added, "Well. _Most_ customers, anyways."

"We're very lucky," Sheik deadpanned. "Have the citizens of Ecchar fully retaken their city, then?"

Ravio nodded. "For the most part. There's rumors of tunnels being sealed from the inside and members of Lorule escaping."

"…Lorule?" Sheik furrowed her brows. "Is that what they call themselves?"

Link and Ravio exchanged a look. "It's mostly because it was be _low_ ground," Link said. "And also because they—we—were the lowest part of society and we wanted to make it to the top… where we could take charge of everything. Rule the world like it was our own."

"Mostly Hilda's ideas," Ravio said. "She was a good leader and knew how to get things done. But most of us were just in it for the money." When Link averted his gaze, he added, voice a little softer, "And some of us were pushed into it before we really knew what was going on."

"Did you hear of any casualties in Ecchar?" Link said quickly, still not looking all the way up at Ravio. "Injuries or deaths—I just—I'd like to know if everyone's alright."

Though Ravio didn't seem to mind Link's abrupt subject change, Sheik certainly did. But she kept quiet, just listening to the two of them for now.

"No one died, I don't think," Ravio said. "But lots of people got injured. It was a battle, buddy—you can't beat yourself too much over it. When you have people fighting in small enclosed spaces like that, people are bound to get hurt."

"But no one died?"

"No one died."

Link let out a relieved sigh, visibly less tense than before.

"Any news from other cities, then?" Sheik asked. Now that both men seemed more relaxed, Sheik was willing to redirect the conversation, if just for a moment. "Sarin, maybe?" She hesitated, then added, "…Anything on Kakariko?"

"Nothing from Kakariko," Ravio said, shaking his head. "Sorry. No one's come out of there. No one that was living in Kakariko when it vanished has reappeared anywhere. The only people we've found weren't anywhere near Kakariko when it got magicked. People've checked if it's just invisible, but you can touch where the buildings are supposed to be—they're not there."

Sheik tried not to look as crestfallen as she felt. With the mask, she could hide it slightly, but there was no disguising the hurt in her voice. "I see," she said. Staring a bit too hard at the table in front of her, she forced some strength back into her voice till it sounded like steel. "We'll have to find a way to fix it, then. What about Ise? Anything?"

"Now, Ise I can help you with, I think," Ravio said. "Not a whole lot of news, but I have heard of a small resistance up north."

Sheik sat up a little straighter, looking intensely at Link. "Resistance?"

Ravio nodded. "No news of the leader, which is probably for the best. But apparently it's well known where the girls are being kept. There was a settlement in the mountains, once. Not a big one, and the fanciest of them was a tourist-trap for a few years after the Hero of Twilight fought through it. Snowpeak, I think they called it. But the girls are being held in a more fortress-like one, just a bit further down the mountain."

Though the information was useful, Sheik couldn't help but be wary. If people were starting to talk about people who were going around and trying to help the missing girls, and fix the magicked cities, then what was to stop someone from interfering? What was to stop someone from trying to trap them? "And you received this information… how?"

"I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but… I agree. How did you hear about this?" Link bit the inside of his cheek, brows drawing together in that worried look Sheik had become so accustomed to.

"Customers," Ravio said. Seeing that they weren't going to take that for an answer, he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "…Alright, so maybe sometimes old business partners drop by. And maybe some of 'em are good people nowadays. But they value their privacy just as much as you do, so I'm not droppin' any names."

Sheik's lips twisted into a frown behind her mask. Though she had no room to talk, she wasn't overly fond of people that seemed to have something to hide. "And we ought to trust them just on your word?"

"I didn't say to _trust_ them," he said. "But you asked for information, and I'm giving it to you." With that, he got up, gesturing for them to rise, too. "I have some things for you to take with you, too. Might help you get where you're going."

Though Sheik wanted to protest, Link spoke up first, and rose to his feet. "We'll take whatever you want to give us," he said. "But… be careful, Ravio. I don't want to think about what someone'd do to you if they found out you were helping us."

"No worries there, buddy," Ravio said, shaking his head. He walked a few steps towards Link, a reassuring smile on his face. "I'll be just fine. Don't you worry about a thing, okay?"

Link didn't look quite like he believed him, but he took a breath and nodded anyways. "Alright," he said. "Now, what's this about 'stuff to take with us'?"

Sheik rose as Ravio started to lead them to the back room, following at a short distance behind them. Not for the first time, she felt a bit like a third wheel to the pair of them, but… It was nice, seeing Link with people who made him happy. So Sheik followed them into the back room, listening closely for the front door, just in case.

As Sheik leaned against the doorframe, Ravio rummaged in a small drawer while Link waited close by.

"Ah, here it is," Ravio finally said, pulling out a small parchment. "It's a map. Not entirely sure what of, but… Someone slipped it to me, saying they were part of the resistance. Not super familiar with the fella myself, and he didn't look thrilled to be in the store, but… I trust him, I think. He seemed like a good enough guy."

Sheik frowned, but didn't say a word.

"We'll figure it out," Link said, offering a small smile as he took the map and put it in a small satchel at his hip. "Thanks, Ravio."

"Yeah, yeah," the merchant said. "I shouldn't keep you guys too long, though. It's getting late, and I'm willing to bet that you're heading out bright 'n early tomorrow morning, huh?"

"That's the plan."

Sheik left the room as Link made for the door, with Ravio just a few steps behind him. But even if she was in the lead, she didn't miss the way the pair stopped halfway to the exit.

"Stay safe, kid," Ravio said, pulling Link into a brief hug.

And though Sheik had never really taken into account whether or not Link was a particularly affectionate guy, she couldn't help but notice how relaxed and content he looked, even if the touch was brief.

"I'll do my best," Link replied once he'd pulled away. There was something a little bittersweet in his expression, but Sheik supposed it was to be expected.

Not for the first time, she wondered what, exactly, had gone on between the two of them. Maybe someday Link would tell her everything, but until then, she'd just have to be patient and figure out what she could from what she'd already seen and heard.

"Ready to go?" Link asked, looking at Sheik.

Sheik nodded. "If you are." Glancing up at Ravio, she hesitated for just a brief moment, before she found the right words to say. "I'll do my best to take care of him," she said. "So don't worry so much."

With that, she bowed her head and took a step backwards. Too embarrassed to even listen to what Ravio might have said in reply, Sheik opened the door and slipped outside, Link close behind her after a final goodbye.

* * *

They walked mostly in silence for a few minutes, Link having to quicken his pace to keep up with Sheik's longer strides. As they walked closer to the rougher parts of town though, he reached for her hand.

"Take care of me, huh," Link said softly, something like amusement in his voice. When Sheik's ears only reddened in reply, he grinned. "We're a team though, y'know. It's my job to look out for you, too."

"I know that," Sheik said. "But Ravio needed to hear it. Else he'd worry."

To Sheik's surprise, Link's fingers slipped between hers, their loose hold becoming something a little bit stronger. "So you _do_ care about what people feel," he said. "Y'know, a couple weeks ago, I would've thought—"

"A couple weeks ago I would've clocked you for that," Sheik cut in, unwilling to hear the end of that sentence. A little less gruff, she added, "And I don't think you have any right to complain that I don't act how I did a few weeks back."

Link got quiet for a moment, and Sheik hoped she hadn't actually upset him. But when she looked over at him, there was a sweet expression on his face.

It was suddenly a bit more difficult to breathe, and Sheik looked away, her pulse suddenly increasing.

Link seemed to notice, because he gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I won't ever complain about that, Sheik," he finally said. "Sorry for teasing you."

And, as if he had some kind of vendetta against letting her have a calm pulse, he gently lifted her hand to his face. But instead of the back of her hand, Sheik felt those soft, warm lips against her wrist instead. But she wouldn't be one-upped this time, she decided. Though she was grateful she didn't usually have to make any first moves on her own… Maybe it would be nice, just this once, to reciprocate with more than Link expected.

So for once, she wouldn't just match his pace.

In the beat after Link lowered her hand, Sheik slowed her pace and pulled him closer, turning to face him. Before Link could ask why she'd slowed down or what she thought she was doing, Sheik allowed her emotions, just this once, to make her decisions for her.

Using her height to her advantage, she pressed a quick but gentle kiss against his brow. Her mask was still on, so she knew her kiss was nowhere near as warm and sweet as his had been, late last night. Just the memory of that kiss made her smile beneath her mask. Though it had startled her then, it was a sweet memory now, and she regretted not giving him a similar kiss earlier that morning.

More than anything though, she hoped that maybe someday, she'd be able to give him the same level of affection he gave her so easily.

But all too soon Sheik pulled away, continuing to walk forward as if nothing had happened. Still, she didn't miss the way his hand held hers tighter, or the brightness to his cheeks.

There was a warmth to his smile that hadn't been there before, and Sheik knew she'd done the right thing.

Maybe someday, she thought, she'd have the courage to be more open and affectionate with him, and take off her mask around him—both figuratively and literally. But until then, it was nice to know that she could make him happy even from actions as small as these.

Sheik hid a smile underneath her mask for the rest of the trip to Telma's. No matter the low hum of a magical presence throughout Solen, or the stress of the upcoming journey, or all of her questions about her identity and possible Triforce, she felt at peace next to Link.

And for now, that was enough.

* * *

 **((Well, on one hand, this is absurdly late, but on the other, it's the longer chapter to date by a long shot. And also, I mean, you've got a lot of good moments between Sheik and Link. …Still, I do want to apologize for how absurdly late this is. Hopefully future updates won't be so late, but… it's getting towards finals week, and I'll have a summer job that'll likely take up a lot of time, so I can't promise I'll update quickly when it starts.**

 **Until next time though, thank you for reading. If you liked this chapter or not, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Reviews mean the world to me, and I hold each of them close to my heart.))**


	22. Chapter 22

**((Sorry for such a long wait! Hopefully you'll be reassured that this chapter is actually Getting On With the Plot, and from here on out, chapters will be picking up speed. Anyways, happy reading, and I hope you enjoy it!))**

* * *

The following morning, Sheik and Link packed everything up onto Epona. Their departure wasn't without some tearful goodbyes, however. After not seeing Link for a month, neither Ilia nor Telma seemed ready to let him go just yet. Still, with enough farewell hugs and well-wishing, Link managed to pry himself away.

Though Sheik couldn't help a tinge of jealousy, she didn't say a word about it. He had a family waiting for him, even if neither were blood relations. How could she begrudge him just because she no longer had a family? So instead, she merely hopped up onto the horse and waited for Link to join her.

When he finally did, Sheik was quick to dig her heels into Epona's side and start off. Though it wouldn't be nearly as long to Sarin and Ise as it had been to Marr, it'd still be a few days' journey. Not to mention they'd be lucky not to freeze on the way.

Winter was approaching, after all. And Ise was deep within the snowy part of Lanayru.

Sheik's worries started to set in not long after they left. Though they'd gathered plenty of supplies to keep warm, and they'd likely be getting help from a so-called 'Resistance,' she couldn't help but be nervous.

As if Link could sense her nervousness, though, he soon leaned forward till his chest was warm and solid against her back. It wasn't till she leaned against him that he wrapped her arms around her, but when he did, she felt just a bit less tense.

They continued wordlessly to Ise. And for once, Sheik almost felt good about it.

* * *

The days passed far faster than they had on earlier trips. But that, Sheik noted, was because the days were starting to grow shorter, and the nights, longer.

Which was a problem, considering how cold it was already starting to get.

Now that they were riding up into higher elevations, there was ice on the ground, and instead of rain, the clouds gave snow. Epona had to slow considerably, partially from the icy roads, and partially from the steep elevation.

When they settled down for camp the third night—a day behind schedule already—it was finally too cold to sleep.

After lying awake for an hour and pretending she wasn't shivering, Sheik finally sat up. Her first instinct was to just continue on the road, but when she looked at Link, other ideas came to mind.

Link seemed to be thinking the same.

"Cold?" he asked, sitting up as well. "I don't think we'll freeze to death if we sleep out here, but…"

"I'd rather not risk it all the same," Sheik finished. Without waiting for explicit permission, she stood and brought her sleeping mat and blankets closer to him, lying her sleeping mat next to his. "Move—just for a moment. If we pile the mats on top of each other, we can block out more of the cold from the ground."

"And lose the warmth I've already built up?" Despite the teasing tone, there was a genuine forlorn look on his face as he pushed the blankets back and stood. Sheik didn't keep him waiting, though, and soon piled her mat on top of his.

Together, they laid down on top of the stack, then piled their combined blankets on top of themselves.

There wasn't much room to lie down, but honestly, Sheik couldn't care less. It wasn't as if it was the first time they'd had to share.

It was, however, the first time they'd be consciously sharing such a tight space. Sheik remembered waking up with her head against his middle back in Marr, but it wasn't as if she'd fallen asleep in such a way.

Now, though…

"I don't think we'll fit if we're both lying on our backs," Link said, pulling his cold elbow back inside the comfort of the blankets. Without much warning, he turned, his back towards her as he settled closely against her.

The cold was seeping in from Sheik's side, too, and she hesitantly turned towards him. It would be entirely too awkward to turn with her back to him, after all, and she tended to curl up her legs in her sleep. If she did that tonight, chances were she'd wake up with feet outside the blanket and thoroughly frosted.

At least Link didn't seem to mind the closeness.

To Sheik's surprise, as she was starting to fall asleep, she felt Link shifting closer. Unsure if he was asleep and aware of his movement or not, Sheik didn't protest or push him away.

Instead, she found herself reaching for him.

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and settled closer, knees tucking against the back of his legs.

Though she was certain she'd woken him from the movement, Link didn't protest. If anything, he seemed more relaxed than before. It didn't take long, then, for her partner to fall asleep once more. Sheik, warm and comfortable, was quick to join him.

* * *

The next day, they came to Sarin. The city, far more spread out than Oxon and Marr, was completely overgrown with vines and trees. Despite its foliage, though, no animals had come to it. It was eerily silent save for Shek and Link's own footsteps and the wind in the trees.

It was also startlingly hot—especially compared to the cold just a few hundred feet back. Though it had been a comfort at first, Sheik soon found herself uncomfortably warm—particularly before they stowed away their winter clothes and cloaks.

Because of the eerie nature to the city, Link tied Epona to a small gate outside the city to keep her safe while they explored. Once they unpacked a few essentials—water and weapons and rope—they continued forward on foot.

Though most of the cities had been relatively calm (save for the guardian spirit), it was still dangerous to walk around unarmed. The further they walked inside, though, the warmer and more humid it got, till they were sweating bullets even in the shade of the jungle's trees.

"And here I thought I'd enjoy the temperature change," Link finally said, leaning against the trunk of a particularly large tree. "But it looks like it's just something else trying to kill us."

Sheik wiped her forearm against her brow. "I don't think Hylian bodies are meant to switch temperatures so abruptly," she said. "Or Sheikah ones, for that matter."

Link nodded. He reached for a canteen of water, then took a long drink. "We need to find somewhere to refill this soon," he said. "Or we'll run the risk of dehydrating."

"If I see some, I'll let you know. But something tells me whoever created this place isn't all that interested in our wellbeing." Slight paranoia set in, and Sheik wondered just how much the spell-caster wanted them dead—and just what lengths they'd go in order to kill them. Would they go as far poisoning water systems? Or just leave water out of the land entirely?

As they trudged on, Sheik found herself moving slower and slower.

It wasn't until she looked down and realized her feet were half submerged that she realized something was amiss.

And by the time she realized the problem wasn't getting any better, she was covered up to her calves, and sinking further the harder she tried to get out.

"Stay back," she shouted. "It's pulling me under!"

"Isn't that more reason for me to come towards you?" Despite her warning, Link came closer. He only stopped when he felt a pull on his legs as well, and quickly backtracked. "…Alright, so it'll pull me down, too," he said. "How am I supposed to get you out of there, then?"

Sheik pursed her lips together. "I don't know," she admitted. "It—It doesn't want to let me go. And the more I struggle, the faster I sink."

Link took a deep breath and took a quick survey of the environment. "The trees," he said. "We should've been using the trees to move around."

"And that helps how?" Sheik closed her eyes, forcing herself to stop moving. It would just make her sink faster, after all, and if Link needed time to plan, then she'd need to give him as much as she could.

Link's eyes flashed with an idea, and suddenly he was scrambling up the closest tree.

Sheik tried not to feel anxious, but it was hard not to worry now that he was no longer near her. Even as she looked for him, she could barely make out the green of his tunic against the leaves.

Still, he didn't leave her for long. Soon he made his way onto a branch hanging over her, and carefully unpacked the rope from his bag. He tied it onto the branch as quick as he could, then made his way back to the trunk of the tree.

"Climb up onto the branch," he said. "It won't hold us both, so you're on your own for this one, but—"

"I think I can handle climbing a damn rope," Sheik said. Once the rope was low enough, she grasped hold of it and climbed. Though she hated the feeling of the sand seeping into her suit, she had to admit, it was better than drowning in it. Still, the ground resisted her progress, and it took far more energy than usual to pull herself free.

Once she finally reached the top of the branch, she heaved herself onto it and made her way to the center of the tree, where the branches were stronger.

Link pulled her into a hug as soon as she was close. "Goddesses," he said, letting out a sigh. "I should've been paying more attention."

"I was the one who walked into it," she muttered as she pulled away. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine now, so let's keep moving."

Now that they were up in the trees, Sheik decided to use it to her advantage. Though Link looked more than a little put out by the gruffness she was showing him, she paid him no mind. Instead, she climbed as far up the tree as she could, peering out into the distance.

"Looks like we have some work to do," she shouted down to him. "The Jungle stretches a long way from here."

"See any enemies?"

Sheik squinted, looking for anything to present itself. Unfortunately, she saw nothing, and shook her head. "Just a lot of trees. Plenty of space for it to hide itself."

Before climbing down, she took one last look to determine where they were and where they ought to head. From the looks of it, they were perhaps a fourth of the way to the center. With all the effort they'd put into walking though Sarin, she'd expected them to be further in than they were. But she supposed between the heat and the wet soil trying to drown them, it made sense that they were behind schedule.

So she slid down from the center and landed near Link, already reorienting herself to the proper direction.

"I think we ought to stay in the trees," Link said, catching her wrist before she could go too far. "The ground might get worse the closer to the center we get."

Sheik nodded. "Good idea—but I don't think the far branches can support both of us. We'll have to split up." The look on Link's face was one of immediate dissatisfaction, but there wasn't much choice. "We don't have to go far," she said, "But if the ground really does get worse, we might both fall in and get stuck together. And then no one will be there to come to our rescue."

Link hummed his assent, but he still didn't look very happy. "Just make sure we're both going the same direction," he said. "We can call back and forth to make sure we stay close. The foliage is so thick I could barely see you up there—I'd hate to get too far apart."

"We'll figure it out," Sheik said. Before pulling away from him, she glanced at the hand still gently pulling on her wrist. Though it would have been easy to press a kiss to his hand again, Sheik thought better of it. So instead, she used his hand as leverage to pull him closer, then pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. "I'll take the right—you can go left."

As Sheik walked away, Link stayed put for another moment. It wasn't until she'd already started to leave that he started to move again, and even then, he was slow and unsteady.

"You good?" Sheik asked, searching for the next study branch to leap onto. It wasn't easy to leap from treetop to treetop, and though they weren't excessively high up, the branches still weren't meant to support their weight.

Link jumped into the next tree, raising his voice to be heard. "…Yeah."

Sheik glanced at him, surveying the way he was testing the branch beneath him. "You sure?"

"Ask later," Link said, carefully treading to the center of the tree, then working his way to the opposite side. "Kind of busy right now."

The last thing she wanted to do was distract him, so Sheik merely kept moving. Every time they moved to the next tree in the line, they called to each other just to make sure they weren't veering off course. The path Link was on veered slightly too far to the left, but for the time being, they'd be safe.

Or so Sheik had hoped.

Long before they reached the center, the monster's guardian suddenly made itself known.

And, as Sheik watched its long, lithe body slither between the foliage—big enough to knock over trees if it so chose—she felt all the air leave her lungs.

"The monster," Sheik suddenly called. "It's—oh, goddesses."

Link's voice was further off than Sheik remembered it being. But all the same, he shouted back to her. "Stay where you are," he called. "I'm coming!"

But the snake, hearing their voices, suddenly turned towards Sheik. For a moment, she froze, praying that it wouldn't notice her if she didn't move. But it was a vain hope, and in her inaction, the snake had a head start. Sheik only had enough time to jump to the next tree before it rammed into and knocked over the one she'd just been in.

With a sinking heart, Sheik remembered that they wouldn't be able to beat it without first destroying the object that gave it power.

And last she'd checked, they were still ages from the jungle's center.

"Just go to the center!" Sheik shouted. "I'll hold it off! I don't think it realizes you're here yet!"

Link was still too far away for Sheik to hear him stop, but she knew he was conflicted. "What about you?"

"I'm going to lead it as far away from you as I can! Now get out of here before it hears you and switches targets!"

That said, she leapt to the next tree and let the snake follow her, leading it as quickly as she could. The ground was still treacherous after all, and the last thing Sheik wanted was to fall. She'd be completely at the snake's mercy if she mis-stepped even once.

…And it was certainly big enough to swallow her in one bite.

But no matter how fast she jumped through the treetops, she wasn't fast enough.

The snake was catching up to her, and it wasn't long before it rammed into the tree she was taking refuge in. Sheik made a desperate leap for the next tree over, narrowly catching a low-hanging branch before she hit the ground. As she pulled herself up, the snake was already rearing up to strike again.

There was no time for her to cross the tree and jump to another one.

All she could do was attack.

But though she wanted to attack as soon as possible, the beginnings of an idea were forming.

Every time it knocked into a tree, the snake seemed temporarily disoriented, and there was a few seconds' pause in its chase.

Sheik would have to avoid being knocked out of the tree, but… she'd deal with that when it came.

So she waited right where she was, just for a moment, and waited for the snake to rear back. The instant before its head made contact with the tree, she leapt from it and flipped through the air. With her katana drawn, she stabbed it into the snake's neck, then twisted.

But, skilled as she was, nothing could be easy in these magically tainted cities.

Though any other creature would have been killed or at least severely weakened, this one hardly flinched. Sheik supposed it was because its life was tied to whatever object Link was trying to find.

As the snake reared back and tried to shake her off, Sheik could only pray that he was having more luck than her.

Though Sheik managed to stay on it for a few minutes, eventually it got the idea to ram its side into a tree. The wind was knocked completely out of her, but she couldn't afford to just sit there. So she forced herself up off the ground, grateful that she'd landed on the tree's roots rather than the muddy, slippery soil surrounding it. Before the snake could come back around, she scrambled up the tree and resumed her routine of hopping from treetop to treetop.

After being knocked so hard against that tree, though, Sheik couldn't move quite as fast as she had before. And that meant, just as before, that she had to change tactics.

But rather than trying to land on its back again, she decided to try zig-zagging her path. It'd throw the monster off for a while, at least, and give her a better chance of staying out of its path.

After a few minutes, she finally caught her breath again. As nice as it was to breathe, though, she was still running out of steam. She'd already been hopping from treetop to treetop for what felt like ages—not to mention how dehydrated she was from the humidity. Sheik might not have been using magical energy, no, but there was only so much she could do before she was too tired to continue.

Goddesses, she hoped Link was close to breaking the object.

In the meanwhile, Sheik would outrun it as long as she could. So she ran, leaping from treetop to treetop, as fast as she possibly could. She nearly mis-stepped more times than she could count, but by the grace of the goddesses, she was kept in the air. As she worked, though, she slowly lost track of time, trapped in an endless cycle of the green leaves and the endless exertion.

In her exhausted state, it was only a matter of time before she missed her footing.

Having dealt with magic most of her life, she knew her physical limits. The humidity was tearing her apart almost as much as the exercise—and without even water to replenish her, she would run out of energy long before the monster was vanquished.

But she refused to become easy prey, either.

After going at it for what felt like hours, Sheik knew she needed to wrap things up. So with the last of her strength, she threw herself at the snake once more.

And, was it her imagination, or did it seem just as exhausted as she was?

Sheik's arms shook from exertion, but she forced her katana into its neck once more. And then again, and again, and again, till it finally stopped struggling.

It took several minutes for her to realize it was dead—and even longer to realize that Link must have destroyed the object tied to it.

And, in a flash, the monster disappeared—along with most of the foliage.

Suddenly the jungle had turned back into ice, and the sand into snow. At least, she thought, she didn't have to worry about the sand enveloping her anymore.

But that didn't mean the snow was any good to lie on, either.

It took several minutes for Sheik to even muster the energy to pull herself up. And even then, it was mostly because her worry for frostbite was greater than her exhaustion.

With the foliage gone, it was far easier to find her way, and she realized with no small gratitude that she wasn't far from the city's center. That meant Link must be close by, too, since the artifact must have been placed in the very middle of the city.

Now that thoughts of Link were filling her mind, Sheik's weary pace doubled. Though she couldn't quite manage a run, she tried nonetheless, nearly tripping over herself in the process.

By the time she reached the center of the city, she was so tired that she sunk onto the first bench she found, oblivious to the world around her. Because of that, it took a while for her to realize someone was calling her name.

It was with tired, unfocused eyes that she searched for the one calling her. And when she finally recognized the voice, she let out a long sigh of relief.

"I'm h-here," she managed, her chattering teeth taking her by surprise. In an effort to warm herself, she stood and started over to him, though Link met her more than half-way. "I t-take it you broke the cursed object?"

Link nodded. He was, however, less set on talking than he was on looking her over for injuries. As he searched her, he must have found something he disapproved of, and it took a moment before he replied. "It wasn't too hard to break, but it took forever to find. I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long," he said. "How about the snake?"

"P-Persistent," she said. "Very, v- _very_ persistent."

"You look terrible," he said, coaxing her closer. Once she was within arm's reach, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. "Just relax. You're freezing—and probably dehydrated if you spent so long running from that monster."

"I'll be fine," she managed, even as she sagged against him. "Just want to get going to Ise. It's not far from here… and the sooner we g-get there…"

"Sooner you can get a hot bath," he said. Still, he didn't pull away from her, instead just rubbing his blessedly warm hands over her back. "Think you can make it to Epona?"

Sheik nodded, though she doubted it. Although Link could probably see right through her, he didn't contradict her. Instead, he just gave her one last hug, arms encircling her far too tightly.

Sheik couldn't help her wince. As her organs protested the rough treatment, she remembered all too late that she'd been squashed between a giant snake and a tree. Though adrenaline and constant motion had suppressed the pain before, it was all too present now. Despite her attempt at hiding her wince, her pained gasp gave her away, and Link abruptly let go of her and pulled away.

"You're hurt?" he asked, looking her over with concern. "Where? What happened?"

As his hands reached out to tend to injuries, Sheik gently swatted them away. "Nothing you can do about it," she said. "Just need—just need some red potion and I'll be fine."

Link bit his lip, eyes darting around him.

"You shouldn't do any hard riding if you're hurt," he said. "Especially with how icy it is."

Sheik closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. "So, what, we stay in the city for the night?" However, as she considered it, it became quite tempting. "M… Might be good to give Epona somewhere warm to sleep tonight before we head out."

As Link looked around, his eyes settled on a building nearby with a huge chimney. "How about that one," he said. "If it's got a chimney, it's gotta have a fireplace."

Sheik nodded. "I can go get Epona if you want to break in—"

"Or you could go inside and lie down," Link interrupted. "That way you won't pass out in the middle of the snow, and—"

"If I managed to keep jumping through the trees and drag myself here after getting hurt, I think I can handle getting the supplies." Sheik drew herself to her full height, protectively crossing her arms over her chest. "I can manage on my own just fine."

Link pressed his lips into a thin line. "You didn't _have_ to go after the monster at all."

"What, and leave it to chase after you? I was closer," she said. "Now, can I go get Epona before we both freeze to death out here?"

As Sheik turned and started towards the city gate, Link followed behind her. It seemed he was unwilling to let her go on her own, which might have been endearing if he wasn't being so stubborn.

Still, she didn't stop him, so they walked to Epona together.

Once they found the mare—covered in a thin layer of snow—Sheik was quick to search for their cloaks. Once she found them, she handed Link his and threw hers over her shoulders. Somehow when she put them on, she felt colder than before. But until her body-heat warmed it, at least it could serve as a block to the wind.

No sooner than she'd started to lead Epona back to the center of the city, though, Link stopped her.

"Red potion," he started, handing a bottle to her. "You should drink it before you get any worse."

Sheik merely shook her head. "It's frozen," she said, noting how it didn't slosh in its container. "We can heat it up once we're inside with a fire going, okay? But I'll be fine 'till then."

"You said you'd be fine on the way back from the warehouse," Link said. "And I had to watch as you almost bled out."

"But I'm not bleeding out this time." Sheik directed her gaze forward, leading Epona along. Though she could tell her complete indifference was irritating her partner, she wasn't just going to roll over and let him coddle her. "I'm not going to pass out and die before we make it back to the city's center. I can walk just fine."

"Just because you won't _die_ from it doesn't mean you need to do it."

Sheik just continued walking and kept her back to Link. Though she'd never admit it, her torso was starting to ache after he'd hugged her so tightly, and walking didn't help. But it would only make him guilty to know that he'd exacerbated her injuries—and she couldn't give him the satisfaction of taking it slow.

So instead she pushed on to the house they'd agreed on, using some of her power to freeze and break the lock. Once the door was open, she walked in with Epona in tow, grateful that the doorway was large enough to fit the mare.

"Do we still have matches?" Sheik asked. "Or did they get snowed on?"

"They were in a match-box," Link answered. It wasn't long till he'd fished the small box out, and he was quick to light the wood in the fireplace.

Though it would take a while for it to heat up the home, Sheik was already grateful for the warmth it would bring.

"I'm going to see if they have heated plumbing," she said, leaving Epona where she stood. "If I'm not back in five minutes, they probably have it."

Link frowned slightly but nodded all the same. "I'll bring up red potion as soon as it thaws," he promised. "Just try to relax for now."

At the show of concern, Sheik grimaced. But though she hated being coddled, she couldn't pretend it wasn't at least a _little_ warranted. Her ribs ached from where he'd held her, and she was exhausted from running so much. But her pride was strong, and there was no reason to worry her partner now that she was safe. "Don't worry so much," she said. "I'll be _fine_."

When Link opened his mouth to argue, Sheik turned and walked away. When he ended up staying quiet, Sheik let out a grateful sigh, allowing her pace to slow as she searched for the closest room with a bath tub.

When she finally found one, she tensed in anticipation of warm water. And to her immense gratitude, when she turned the faucet, it slowly warmed till it came out with steam. She let the tub fill, already feeling leaps and bounds warmer from the steam alone.

As she started undressing though, she found that her cracked ribs were preventing movement. It was, perhaps, the greatest problem with a skintight suit. Great for flexibility and ease of motion, but with her ribs as they were, she felt trapped.

It took ages, and the tub nearly overflowed before she managed it, but eventually the suit (with its many, many layers) came off.

The heat was, at first, too much for her. Though the heat was appreciated, being suddenly immersed in it was painful—especially since she'd been freezing just a few minutes ago. But she slowly thawed, her cold skin gradually accepting the change rather than resisting it.

But though the warmth revived her, she didn't want to keep Link waiting. And for all she knew, he needed to thaw just as badly as she did. So after casting a quick cleaning spell on her clothes, she slipped on her training clothes and made her way back to the main living area.

To no surprise, Link was waiting there. The sight of him brushing Epona, however, was unexpected.

Sheik knew most people didn't really appreciate being watched, but as she stepped closer, she couldn't help it. It was so rare that she saw Link so at ease and comfortable; it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Link had never been one to talk to himself while he worked. So as always, he brushed Epona in silence, making sure to wipe off the remnants of snow on her flank. He seemed peaceful for the most part, but Sheik knew him better than that.

Despite his silence, and despite his turned face, his body language told her plenty. Between his hunched shoulders and lowered head, he made for a rather lonely figure, even if he was doting so tenderly on Epona.

And, though she couldn't see his expression, Sheik knew exactly what face he was making.

Sheik leaned against the wall, face softening as she called it to mind. His brows drawn together, lips set in a frown—troubled, though he'd try to hide it. He was a worrier by nature, and she didn't doubt that when he had trouble sleeping, his worries had something to do with it. For now, though, she didn't know what he was dwelling on.

There was quite a bit to choose from, after all. Unlike Sheik, he had a family back home, and friends that he probably cared deeply for. Or was it the safety of the kidnapped girls—or even the ones that were safe and now resided with Malon?

But, more reluctantly, she knew he was probably thinking on what had happened earlier.

If there was one thing she had learned about her partner, it was that he wanted to do everything dangerous, if only to keep someone else from getting hurt.

Sheik knew that others were far better at comforting their friends. But she was the only one there at the moment. And, after months on the road together, she certainly hoped he trusted her enough to actually talk to her when he was upset.

So, resigned to her fate, Sheik sighed and walked forward, releasing the silencing spell only when she was almost upon him.

"You don't have to feel bad."

Link whipped around in an instant, left hand automatically reaching for his sword. Sheik caught his wrist before he could draw it, giving him time to look at her before resorting to violence.

Once he realized it was only her, his shoulders sagged and his head drooped along with them. "I almost…"

"Please, like you could've landed a hit before I would've blocked you," she said, releasing his wrist. However, her attempt at lightening the mood didn't go over well, and she watched as he turned his face away. "Link…"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I… I almost put you in danger again."

Sheik shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. And what do you mean, again?"

"I could've distracted it while you looked for the artifact," he said. "You—you probably could've found it faster, too. You were faster in the trees."

"But I was closer to the monster and it hadn't seen you yet." She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer. "Besides, if I was faster, then doesn't that mean I was safer fighting the monster?"

To her surprise, Link leaned against her, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "And if you died, then… I—I would've failed."

"If I died then you'd still be able to finish destroying the artifact," she said. "And find the girls in Ise. Even if I wasn't here, that doesn't mean you couldn't still do your job."

"My job," Link managed, "Is to find Zelda."

Sheik pulled away, unable to hide the tired look on her face. "Don't you think it's turned into something more than that?"

As Link finally looked up at her, there was something almost sad in his eyes. "We have to find her," he said. "She's… Paz, the old Sheikah woman at the castle… She told me Zelda would be the key to all this."

"And right now, _you're_ the one who's actually helping them," Sheik said. "Isn't it better to save the ones you can actually find rather than spending all your time looking for one girl?"

Link looked away, clenching his hands into fists. "You're making it more complicated than it has to be," he said. "My job seemed so easy until _you_ —"

"You would've stayed in Solen," Sheik said, cutting him off. "You said you wanted to find her. At least I got you out of there so you could actually expand your search."

"It just…" Link let out a sigh. "It just feels like she was never your priority in the first place."

There was something off about his tone. But Sheik was too tired to feel cold dread seep into her—all she could feel was numb. But she still managed the strength to push away from him, eyes held firmly to the ground. "I barely remember her," she said. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Link. _Please_."

She didn't—couldn't—know why he listened, but he did. After staying quiet for what felt like ages, Link finally nodded, expression almost as tired as hers. But he didn't look upset, even if he looked disappointed, somehow. Sheik didn't know what to make of it, but… at least he wasn't angry with her.

"You still haven't had any red potion," he said, gesturing mildly to her ribs. Her middle, still bare from her bath, was already turning red and purple at the ribs. "You… probably ought to sit down and take some. Before it gets any worse."

After all the tension between them before, Sheik was more than relieved to see it go—even if it meant he was going to coddle her half to death. So she took a seat by the fireplace, wincing only minimally as she adjusted her place on the ground.

Link sat down close to her, pulling the bottle from its place by the fire. "Your ribs look _awful_ ," he said, lips pulling into a frown as he carefully ran his fingertips over them. "Did any of them puncture something inside?"

"Didn't cough up any blood, so I doubt it." Sheik gritted her teeth, unwilling to admit how much even his gentle probing hurt. "I think it just cracked them a little."

His touch was gentle as ever, but as his fingertips brushed over a swollen fissure, Sheik felt a jolt of pain and flinched. "Just a little?"

"Just a little." Sheik closed her eyes, hating how easily he could see through her. "Nothing's totally broken, so can we just hurry this up already? I want to put my suit back on. It's _freezing_ in here."

Link was quick to hand her the red potion. "I can thaw some more if you think you'll need it."

Sheik downed the potion quick as she could, so accustomed to the taste that she hardly flinched. "I'll only need one for the night," she said. "I just want to sleep after this. It's… it's been a long day."

Once she was finished, Link took the bottle from her hands and set it by the fireplace. A softer expression finally came onto his face, and when he looked back at her, there was something kind in his eyes. He hesitated a moment, but finally brought his hand up, resting it on her cheek. "Yeah?"

Sheik leaned into the touch, then pulled her own hand up to rest atop his. "Yeah."

"Then you ought to get to bed," he said. His voice became hesitant for a moment, but he finally managed to add, "I'm sure they have one in here somewhere. Probably still cold, though."

Sheik knew an invitation when she heard one. With the red on his cheeks and the nervousness in his averted eyes, she knew she needed to accept or she'd probably never hear the offer again. So she gave a small, encouraging smile, voice almost (almost) flirtatious when she spoke. "There are a few ways to fix that."

Relief flashed across Link's face in an instant, and he was quick to stand and offer her a hand. Sheik took it without hesitation.

* * *

Though they'd yet to kiss properly, Sheik was becoming far too used to sleeping next to her partner. Especially when he was close enough that she could hold him in her arms. Last night, though cold and windy, had brought a comfort she hadn't known in years.

So when Link lied down next to her, she didn't hesitate to pull him into her arms, sliding close to him and looping her arms around his waist. Unlike last night, this time she was facing him—able to see his confused smile even in the darkness.

Still, despite his smile, he couldn't help but shift in her hold. "You don't have to hug me that tightly, y'know. I'm not going anywhere."

Sheik loosened her hold at once. "Sorry," she said. "I just… I didn't realize how—"

"I didn't say I minded." Link's expression softened, seeming to realize just how his words sounded. "Sheik… What I meant was…"

Sheik looked up at him expectantly. But though it was clear he wanted to say something, something was holding him back. The last thing she wanted to do was force him, though, so she didn't try to ask him what he meant.

After a while, Link finally found his voice again, but it was only to offer a small, hesitant, "Goodnight, Sheik," before falling silent once more.

Somehow, it felt like she'd failed him somehow. That he didn't feel comfortable around her enough to even say what was on his mind. Sheik knew she'd be a hypocrite if she complained, but… It still felt like she'd done something wrong.

But she didn't give voice to it. Even if they had a lot they weren't telling each other, maybe it would be alright. He felt right in her arms, and she knew he wouldn't be lying next to her if he wasn't where he wanted to be.

So she managed a small, "Goodnight," before closing her eyes and hoping that whatever Link wasn't saying, he'd find the words for someday.

* * *

The next day, they started having to read the map more carefully. Though the instructions were clear, the path was not, and with all the snow on the ground, it was difficult to find the landmarks referred to in the map.

As such, it was late into the night before they finally found the safe house. The fortress, a few miles north, would be too taxing to liberate in the night—especially without a plan or prior knowledge of the area. Not to mention they'd been riding all day and much of the night; they needed rest before they'd be of use to anyone.

Still, when they finally pulled up to the safe haven, they approached slowly and carefully. Though they trusted Ravio with their lives—er, _Link_ trusted Ravio with his life—it was still possible that they were walking into a trap.

And so as they approached, they dismounted Epona and drew their weapons, walking alongside the mare towards the gate.

With no sign of life anywhere, they had to let themselves in. The lack of Hylians alone made Sheik nervous, but the atmosphere, if anything, made it worse. The snow, the dark, the way their feet crunched in the snow—if she didn't know any better, she'd think she was back in Ardock.

She wasn't quite ready to forget how easily she could have died.

But Link's presence was a steady reassurance that she was in the here and now. She walked a little closer towards him, just to feel safer.

Finally they arrived at the gate, taking their place on the stone steps leading up to the door.

Link knocked once, twice, three times, before they stepped back to wait. Sheik's heart almost couldn't take the waiting; she swore she could feel it trying to escape her chest.

Despite her fear, though, Link took hold of her hand, giving warmth and security in the cold. Though he said nothing aloud, she knew he was trying to ease her worries. After all, they were partners now—in more ways than just traveling. Knowing Link was probably just as nervous as she was, she gave his hand a quick squeeze for good measure.

When there was finally a pitter-pattering of footsteps towards them, Sheik felt infinitely more ready to face who, or what, was on the other side of the door.

To her surprise, though, when it opened it contained a man not much older than herself. His hair was darker, though; almost as dark as Link's, but honey where Link's was ashen. The man at the door was taller and far thinner than her partner, too, with glasses perched at the end of his nose.

And even if he was dressed in what appeared to be night clothes, they were fancier than anything Sheik had worn since childhood.

If Sheik didn't know better, she might have thought him a noble.

She pressed her lips into a frown, already ready to be disappointed. Any servant of the king, after all, would be of no help to them. Not when the king's servants' only purpose was to find his daughter.

Before he even said a word, the man held a lantern up to their faces, checking their identities. However, it soon became clear that he didn't recognize them—and, worse, that he was quite suspicious of their intentions.

"And you two would be?" he asked. "State your purpose—you're arriving awfully late at night to be guests. It'd better be important if you come barging in at such an hour."

Link bit his lip and looked at Sheik for help, but Sheik made it clear that she would be of no use. So he looked back to the man at the door, tone mild and placating. "Ravio sent us," he finally said. There was a flash of recognition on the man's face, and, encouraged, Link continued, "He… gave us a map, and said it would lead to you. I'm not entirely sure what all it means, but he swore you could help us. Or, we could help you. Something of the sort."

The man held a hand up to his heart, obviously put at ease by Link's story. "Well, I'm certainly grateful that you're not thieves," he said. "My sincerest apologies for interrogating you, but you see, there's been quite a bit of trouble recently. But either you're the adventurers my partner and I have been searching for, or you make a terribly convincing act. My word, though, I wasn't expecting a Sheikah! Or for either of you boys to be so young! Though, of course, that mask of yours makes it hard to tell just how—"

"It's freezing out here," Sheik interrupted. "If you trust us, then let us in before we get frostbite."

"Oh, how terribly rude of me!" The man moved aside in an instant, allowing Link to pass into the warmth and safety of the home, though Sheik remained behind with Epona. "I'm Shad," he said, holding out a hand into introduce himself. "And that mare of yours… Beautiful, just beautiful—quite strong, too, to have carried your supplies all the way up the mountain. Is she—?"

"Where can we put her?" Sheik asked, once more cutting him off. Link shot her a sharp look, but she ignored him, far more focused on the safety of their horse and supplies than on offending their host.

Shad blinked owlishly at her. "You're a lady," he said suddenly. "Oh, my goddesses, I'm—"

The thought of being called a lady struck a nerve with Sheik, and she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Where can I put the horse?" she asked, ignoring his attempts at apologizing. "I just want to get her someplace warm."

"In… In the stables. There's a door from the outside just on the other side of the porch—it's marked," Shad said quickly. His face was turning pink, but Sheik didn't bother apologizing. Instead, she merely followed his directions and led the horse back outside (bitterly annoyed with the cold all the while), then around to the stables.

As she walked, she swore she could hear Link hastily apologizing behind her. Sheik almost snorted in amusement—it wasn't as if she'd led Epona _inside_. Although, admittedly, it'd been tempting. The doorway was so big and pompous that she almost wanted to mock it just for its lavishness.

Such a huge house was bringing up all the wrong memories, and being called a lady just seemed to make it worse. There had been too many soldiers and guards who'd called her 'little miss' and 'lady' when she was a child. Not to mention her father…

But there was no point in dwelling on those memories. Sheik took a deep breath and tried to re-center her focus before she lost it entirely.

Once she had finally reached the stable door, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was warm inside. It had to be, of course; Epona wasn't its only tenant, and horses were almost as susceptible to the cold as Hylians. Still, much as she wanted to revel in it, she didn't dare linger while her partner was alone in unfamiliar territory. So she led Epona to an empty stall, then removed all of the gear piled on top of her. Without Link, she could only carry so much, so she decided to leave all but the essentials in a small cabinet near the door.

As she walked—loaded up heavily, without a free hand to so much as turn the door—she was so distracted by the task at hand that she didn't notice the girl watching her from the shadows.

It wasn't until she cleared her throat that Sheik even realized she wasn't alone. Given the last few months, the stranger was lucky Sheik hadn't thrown a knife at her—but she didn't escape having a katana drawn on her as Sheik's supplies clattered to the ground.

"Glad to see your reflexes work," the stranger said, watching mildly as Sheik held the blade to her throat. "But _you're_ the home invader. I live here."

Realizing that the girl wasn't a threat, Sheik put her katana away and started reorganizing her bags. "I was invited in," she said. "And you are?"

"Ashei." The girl looked her over, her dark eyes suspicious for a moment more. "If Shad let you in, I take it you're one of the people who've been trying to help Hyrule?" As she looked Sheik up and down, her lips settled into a contemplative expression. "You don't really seem the humanitarian type. What do they call you?"

"Sheik. And I could say the same to you," she said. Though she was hardly sensitive to criticism, she didn't need to take insults lightly, either. If Impa had taught her anything, at least she'd learned to hold her head up high where it counted.

Sheik carefully sorted through the bags, and once she was finally finished, she piled them back onto herself and started for the door. All she could hope was that Ashei would leave her alone and not attempt anymore conversation, but it was in vain. The dark haired girl followed her out, and Sheik gritted her teeth to prevent her from telling her host to go away.

"So, a Sheikah," Ashei said. "I have to admit, it was kind of a surprise to see you."

"So you decided to sneak up on me and surprise me, is that it?"

Ashei picked up her pace, matching Sheik's longer strides. "No, but I wish I'd thought of that," she said. "So, where are you from? Kakariko?"

"None of your business," she said. Realizing all too late that she didn't know where Link and Shad had gone since they were no longer at the front entrance, Sheik's lips pulled into a frown. "Where's Shad? My partner's still with him."

"None of your business," Ashei parroted. At Sheik's burning glare, Ashei rolled her eyes. "I was messing with you, Sheikah. Lighten up." Seeing that Sheik had no intention of doing so, she added, "I think they're in the parlor. I'll show you the way, yeah?"

Sheik didn't answer, but Ashei took initiative regardless, walking a little in front of her and turning inside a different corridor.

"So," she started again. "You, uh, been in the hero-ing business long? Gotta say, I was kind of expecting two guys dressed in green or somethin'. You know. Hero of Legend stuff."

"That would be my partner," Sheik said, "Though he won't admit it."

"And you?"

"I was only _named_ after someone interesting, don't worry." Hefting a bag higher up on her shoulder, she tried to look disinterested as she continued. "To be honest, I'm only in it to help the kidnapped girls. They're my priority."

Ashei's lips pulled into an appreciative smile. If they hadn't been discussing saving innocent victims, Sheik might have even thought it predatory. "Now _that's_ what I like to hear." The dark haired girl turned as she said it, then gestured to the doorway Sheik assumed was her final destination. "Go ahead in," she said. "I'm going to grab the plans and bring 'em in here. Tell Shad I'll be back soon, 'kay?"

Sheik nodded once in passing, then started through the doorway. She didn't waste any time in setting the bags down on the ground, leaving her hands free to finally take off her damn cloak. Grateful as she was that it was warm inside, she'd had quite enough of intense temperature changes from Sarin.

Once she'd set it by the bags, she sought out Shad and Link, finding them in a small library within the room. As she sought them out, she realized just how badly she'd underestimated the size of the mansion—and the wealth within it. It was more than a little overwhelming… especially with the memories it was starting to resurface.

The very last thing Sheik wanted to remember was her early childhood.

But the tall bookshelves, and the smell of parchment, and distant, deep voices from across the room…

Sheik hid behind a well-stocked bookshelf for a moment to compose herself. She'd have to be careful, lest she start responding to the word 'Zelda' as if it were her name.

Once she was sure she wouldn't betray her own secret, she stood, keeping her back straight and shoulders squared. Her mask would have to stay for now, despite the heat, if only to help keep her emotions under control.

"Ashei will be here soon," Sheik said as she approached them. The pair turned towards her, and Sheik was grateful at how happy Link looked to see her. "…She said something about bringing 'the plans.'"

Although Link looked cheerful, Shad seemed quite put-out at the prospect. "This late at night?" he asked. "It's improper, springing work on so soon after guests arrive… But, I suppose there's no stopping her…"

"We _are_ here to work, you know," Sheik said. "The sooner we know the plans, the sooner we can put them into action."

"Well, not necessarily," Shad said. "When we strike depends largely on the weather." At Sheik's furrowed brows, he waved a hand dismissively. "But I'll wait for Ashei to come back—I wouldn't want to skip over anything in my notes, after all."

"Just how detailed is this plan?" Link asked, a hint of a smile on his face. "Sheik and I have mostly been, um, playing things by ear."

"Well, I guarantee you that won't work for Ise," Shad said. "Ashei tried once before—it's a miracle she wasn't killed. It's… well, It's actually how we met, she and I. We both wanted to help, but it was clear we couldn't continue working alone. With her physical capability and my strategizing, we had hoped to liberate the fortress, but…"

When he trailed off, Sheik could only assume it was because of yet another failed attempt. "We'll help you," she said. "No matter what it takes, we'll get them out." As she said it, she felt Link's hand slip into her own, and she gratefully held onto it. After all, though liberating fortresses was nothing new—and Sheik remembered the warehouse all too clearly—it was still dangerous. And she couldn't imagine trying to do it without Link's help.

Shad expectantly at her, nodding his approval. But before he could open his mouth, they heard footsteps behind them, and Sheik turned to see Ashei.

Link spotted her just as soon as Sheik did. And suddenly the hand in hers was holding her in an unbearable grip. Sheik turned to look at her partner, only to find that he had paled significantly—and that she could feel his rapid pulse just from where he was holding her.

Shad, not facing Link, spoke as if unaware of the shorter boy's predicament. "Ashei, I'd like you to meet Sheik and Link. Though, of course, I expect you've already crossed paths with Sheik if she passed on a message of your impending arrival?"

Ashei nodded, setting a small briefcase on a round table nearby. "Yeah. Woulda taken my head off with her blade if she hadn't stopped in time," she said. "Good reflexes." As Ashei got a good look at Link, though, she furrowed her brows. "You alright, kid?"

Link quickly nodded, his death-grip on Sheik's hand abating somewhat. "Fine," he said. "Just. Just a little tired."

"You look like you're gonna be sick," Ashei said. "Did the snow get to ya?"

Sheik took the initiative to feel his face for a fever. Though he didn't feel warm—if anything, he felt uncharacteristically cold—she nodded anyways. "I don't think the frost has been good for him." Ignoring Link's baffled look, she continued onwards, putting a hand gently on his shoulder to steady him. "It's late. He ought to sleep so he'll be in fighting condition tomorrow."

"We probably won't be able to strike for a few days anyways," Ashei said, nodding her head. "The pass has to be in a greater snowstorm than this for the plan to work. And the skies will be clear for a few more days at least."

Link opened his mouth to protest, but Sheik shot him a warning glance. So he merely nodded, allowing Sheik to keep her hand on his shoulder.

"Is there a room we can stay?" Sheik glanced at the plethora of bags by the door of the parlor, lips quirking into a frown. "Preferably close by?"

Shad nodded, worry taking over his features. "Of course, of course. We have plenty of rooms." He glanced at them, a slight pinkness rising in his cheeks as he added, "And… would you like to be in the same room?"

Ashei shot him a deadpan look, but Sheik hardly looked up from Link. "Either," she said. "I'll be staying with him to look after him while he's sick, so for tonight I'll only need one."

…Not that she was planning on going back to sleeping alone, of course. After the past few weeks, she'd grown more and more accustomed to feeling Link close to her. Still, it was a bit too embarrassing to say aloud, so she was glad she had Link's fake illness to stand in for a real excuse.

"I…I see," Shad said. "Well, in that case, I suppose there's one just across the hall you can use."

That said, Shad was quick to lead them down the hall, with Sheik and Ashei bearing most of the travel bags. Once everything was situated, Ashei pulled Shad out of the room, allowing Sheik and Link to have some much-needed privacy.

Once Sheik was sure that the footsteps down the hallway were out of earshot, she turned to Link with a serious expression.

"So," she said. "What was that all about?"

Link sat on the edge of the bed, face still uncannily pale. "It's nothing."

"You look like you saw a ghost," Sheik said. "That's not nothing. You were fine for a minute, but then Ashei suddenly walked in and you…" She bit her lip, trailing off before she could say something she might regret. "If there's something wrong with Ashei, then I'd like to know before we partner with her and Shad."

She gave him a long look, her stare unwavering. It took a while for Link to finally meet her eyes, but when he did, it was with an uncharacteristically sober expression.

"It's just," he started, taking a deep breath before he could continue. "She just… looks a lot like someone I used to know."

Sheik furrowed her brows, trying to fit the pieces together. But suddenly they fell into place, and she remembered Ravio speaking of Hilda, and that night back at Ecchar. When she'd disguised herself with dark hair, Link had panicked outright, only able to choke half of Hilda's name before he recognized her and started to calm.

He'd been off-kilter for the rest of the night after that, too.

Ashei's dark hair must have set him off—and, from the looks of it, it was badly enough that working with her would be difficult in the upcoming days.

Sheik let out a soft sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like a burden, so she gently sat down next to him. Though she felt clumsy as she tried to comfort him, she carefully laid an arm around his shoulders nonetheless. "I'm sorry," she said. "I should've figured it out sooner. It's about Hilda, isn't it?"

Link closed his eyes and leaned into the embrace. "You don't know the half of it."

And, admittedly, it was true. She knew bits and pieces, and she knew that whatever Hilda had done, it had left severe marks on her partner. But she didn't know everything.

For now, all she could do was be there for him and hope that it was enough.

"You can tell me what happened anytime," Sheik said. "It doesn't have to be now—it doesn't have to be ever, if you don't want to. But…" She bit her lip, praying the words were coming out right. "I'll be here to listen if you ever want to talk. Alright?"

Link nodded, then slowly pulled away. "Alright," he said. He was quiet for a while, staring for a long time at the ground. It seemed to take all of his willpower to sit up again, and when he did, he looked so tired that Sheik almost reached out to keep him upright. "We ought to get to sleep, Sheik."

As he said it, there was something off about his tone. Sheik, suddenly uncertain, stood and looked between him and the door. "Would you… like me to sleep elsewhere?" she asked softly. "I understand if you do, but…"

"No, it's," Link bit his lip, hesitating. "I just… I didn't know how to ask you to stay."

"Unless you ask me not to, I'll stay with you." Sheik stepped closer and cupped his cheek, just looking at him for a while before she could bring herself to move. She finally managed to press a soft kiss to his forehead, pretending she didn't notice his posture relax the moment she did it. When she pulled away, she was relieved to find that some color had returned to his cheeks, and that no trace of outright panic remained. "You look better," she said. "…But you still ought to lie down."

Link managed a smile. "You should, too," he said. "It's late."

Though she was reluctant to pull away—as if any moment, Link could revert back to that state of panic—Sheik let go of him. Without hesitating, she took off her suit, layer by layer, till she was left in her training clothes.

"Someday we've really gotta get you pajamas," Link said, lips quirking into a smile. Realizing that he didn't really have sleep-clothes, either, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Both of us, I guess."

"I think we have slightly bigger problems on our hands," she said. As she slipped into bed, she turned on her side, twisting to look at him. "But… Maybe someday. When this is all over."

Link couldn't help his smile. Now down to his underthings, he slipped in beside her and opened his arms. As she settled into them and pulled him close, he pressed a barely-there kiss to her shoulder. "Hey, Sheik?" he asked, waiting till she looked up at him to continue. "After… all this is over, do you think…"

He hesitated, and because of their closeness, she could feel his rapid heartbeat. Worried that he was getting pale and sick again, she looked up in alarm. Instead of a white, face, though, she found that it was rather pink, and could only guess what he was holding himself back from saying.

"Do I think…?" she prompted, trying to encourage him.

"Do you think you'll still be around?"

His question took her by surprise. But more surprising than that was that she didn't have an answer at all. It startled Sheik to realize just how little thought she'd put into her future. The only thing she could think about was rescuing the girls from Ise and possibly taking them back to Lon Lon Ranch. Sometime she'd go back to Kakariko Village and find out what was going on and hopefully save it, but…

Aside from those few things, she had no idea what she was going to do.

Her partnership with Link had opened too many doors. There were too many futures that she could have—too many ideas about who she could become, where she could live, what she could do with her life.

Her silence must have made Link worry, though, because his pulse wasn't losing pace.

"Sheik?" he prompted, worry obvious in his voice. "If—I mean, if you aren't… Interested, I understand. You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to. I'm… I'm sure you have other options."

Sheik met his eyes and tried to look reassuring. "It's not that at all," she said. "I just… I never… really thought about what I might do after this is over."

"Never?"

Sheik shook her head. "I… I guess I thought… Maybe I'd just… keep wandering forever. Like I was before… all of this."

Link was quiet for a while, expression unreadable. "Forever?" he finally asked. "That's…"

"But it's… not what I want to do now," she said. "And I… I still don't know what I want to do now. But I know it's not that."

There was obvious relief on her partner's face. Even so, it was mixed with a plethora of other emotions. Compassion, fondness… and a few others she couldn't place. "Well," he said, voice slow and uncertain, "If… If you ever need help finding your way…"

Though he couldn't seem to find the words to finish, Sheik knew what he was trying to say. She smiled softly, then pressed a quick kiss against his forehead. "We'll figure it out," she said. Even as she said it, though, she couldn't help the anxiety bubbling in her stomach. "But… Something tells me that this mess is a long way from over."

Though the worry had never left his features, a crease appeared between his brows once more. "Yeah?"

Sheik settled back against him, pulling the covers up to her chin. "Yeah."

Link just held her a little tighter, body a bit tenser than it had been just moments ago. "We'll be okay," he promised. "We just gotta stick together."

Even as he said it, Sheik got a strange feeling. It wasn't quite the invasive voice in her head that told her things she couldn't possibly know. But it was similar. And because of that feeling, she knew in her heart that there would be things they couldn't stick together for. There was no sense in worrying Link over something that hadn't happened yet, though, so Sheik ignored the feeling.

Instead, she merely closed her eyes and leaned closer. "Get some rest," she whispered. "Or you'll be tired tomorrow."

Link nodded, but that tenseness didn't leave him. Still, when he spoke, his voice was soft, and Sheik felt warmth pool in her chest. "Goodnight, Sheik."

"Goodnight."

And yet, even as Sheik drifted off, she had a feeling sleep wouldn't come as easily to Link as it did to her. All she could do was hope that her presence was a comfort, and that he would fall asleep eventually.

* * *

 **((Don't worry, readers. I know this has been moving quite slow (…and honestly, if I go back and rework chapters, there will be a** _ **lot**_ **that gets cut), but the pace will be moving faster from here on out. The repetitive way they've been traveling will change quite a bit, too—after Ise, there will be quite a lot that changes. There's a whole lot of fic left to write, and honestly, I have no idea how absurdly long this will be once it's done.**

 **Hopefully Sheik and Link's relationship isn't too rushed for anyone. And I would like to point out that while they're sleeping next to each other, there's nothing more intimate than cuddling going on at the moment. Please bear in mind that they haven't even properly kissed. However, if you choose to interpret their sleeping quarters as such, feel free—just know that I won't ever write it out.**

 **But anyways! Sorry for rambling so much, especially after such a long chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoyed and will be ready for the next installment soon! It shouldn't take nearly so long to write now that I have free time and inspiration again.**

 **As always, thank you for reading, and please, whether or not you liked the chapter, I'd very much appreciate to hear your thoughts about it! Leave me a review and if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them! Thank you, and have a wonderful day!))**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry that this is, again, late. But even though I've had plenty of time to write this, I've really struggled with inspiration. While uploading, it kept giving me an error message, so this update was delayed for a bit, as well… I also cut almost 3000 words from this, which seriously set me back. If you want, you can find some of that on my writing tumblr since it didn't ultimately end up making the cut. Aside from that, I've also been struggling with a few rather… personal things, along with losing all sense of time now that it's summer. But finally, this chapter is finished, and I hope you all like it!**

* * *

When morning came, Sheik was almost convinced that Link was fine. But once she'd opened the windows and seen his face in the light, she knew he hadn't slept well. Between the circles around his eyes and the slowness to his movements, Sheik had a feeling that he'd stayed up worrying.

About what, she didn't know. And though she wished she could ask, she had a feeling that he didn't want her to. So she allowed things to stay as they were for now.

She trusted that he'd tell her when he was ready.

So as he slowly pulled himself together, Sheik got ready alongside him. To her relief, her ribs didn't ache; they'd even returned to a normal color. As she slipped into her suit, she let out a soft sigh and pulled everything fully into place. Once she turned back towards Link, though, she found that he'd been watching her—and with a distinctly concerned expression.

"Everything alright?" he asked, still only half dressed despite having far few layers to his clothes. "With—I mean, your ribs and everything."

Sheik nodded. "Not even sore."

Link let out a contented sigh, looking far more relieved than he had a right to be. It seemed his concern had woken him somewhat, because he looked far more awake as he found a spare shirt and pulled it on. It was strange to see him without his signature green tunic on top of it, but… Sheik supposed the mansion was plenty warm without an extra layer. She almost envied him—after all, her Sheikah ensemble had several layers to it, and though it kept her warm and protected in fights, it wasn't very good for staying cool. But, as she considered taking even the outermost garments off, Sheik realized she couldn't do it. Her suit still felt too much like home to leave any of its components off. Sparring with Link was the only exception, really. She couldn't imagine herself wearing anything else regularly.

The dresses from her childhood and the cotton casuals of her youth were like a distant memory now. But being inside the stone walled room—so like her childhood bedroom—Sheik couldn't help but let her mind wander. She could practically feel the swishing of fabric around her, the bulky ribbons and the skirts and underlying petticoats trying to trip her.

Even when she'd been a child, she'd preferred pants. It didn't help that her nursemaids thought of her as some kind of doll, either. The way they cooed over her dark skin and blonde hair was a little sickening—especially since they were constantly trying to dress her up in as much lacy pink fabric as they could get their hands on.

Anything would feel like freedom after escaping those outfits, and pants seemed doubly so. They allowed her to run through the castle and sneak into cupboards and broom closets without her skirts tripping her up or slowing her down. But, even more than that, they'd let her run unrestricted through the _gardens_.

And if there was anything she remembered from back then, it was the gardens. They were the one place she could be totally, completely free. And though she was a young child, there still seemed to be an unfair amount of pressure for her to be polite to every noble that wanted to pat her hair and call her cute. She wasn't interested in being cute, though—she wanted to play. And the gardens were the only place where she was allowed to play roughly and get messy without fear of reproach.

…The gardens were also the only place she could see her father when he wasn't working. Though he tried to be there to tuck her in and say goodnight, most nights he had to work late in his office. But she could always count on seeing him at lunchtime. Though he never had much time to actually _eat_ if he was playing in the gardens with her, at least he'd made time for her.

A lump suddenly rose in Sheik's throat, but she knew better than to _cry_ about it. She hadn't cried in years, after all—not since a few anniversaries of Impa's death had passed. She'd be surprised if her tear ducts still worked.

So instead, she forced the emotion away till there was nothing left of it. Nothing that she felt so acutely, at least.

"Think they have somewhere we can make breakfast?"

Sheik suddenly turned towards Link, startled from her thoughts. "…Breakfast?"

"Yeah," Link said. "Like, _real_ breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm glad to take a break from dried meat and biscuits." After the words left his mouth, though, Link took a closer look at his partner. It was rare for her to be so easily startled—by him, anyways—so it was no wonder that he was confused. "Something wrong?"

"Just a little…" _homesick_ , Sheik nearly finished, the last word dying on her lips. It had nearly slipped out, and she was all too aware of the damage it might have caused had she finished speaking. Goddesses, had she really slipped up so easily? She rubbed at her forehead, trying to appear less rattled than she felt. "…Tired. Just a little tired."

Deciding that she didn't want to face any sort of questioning, Sheik started for the door. She could practically feel the questions on Link's lips, but she paid him no mind as she walked out.

But the hallway was almost worse than inside the room. The décor on the walls was tacky, and garish, and entirely too regal for her tastes. With light streaming in from the tall windows, Sheik couldn't help but feel out of place. And yet, there was a nostalgia to it—and a feeling of belonging, once, before everything went horribly wrong.

Sheik closed her eyes and tried to avoid thinking of it. Once Link followed her out of the room, it was somewhat easier to focus on him and his footsteps on the cobblestones behind her. But even then, it was too familiar to the sound of servants padding around the castle hallways.

She needed something to keep her grounded in the here and now. Preferably before she lost control and slipped up. Goddesses, if it got much worse, she might actually respond to Zelda as if it were still her name.

Without thinking, she slowed her pace to match Link's, then slipped her hand into his. It was strange how easily the touch came to her—but then, she supposed Link made everything easier.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, looking up at her. He examined her face as if searching for something, but Sheik refused to give him anything more than a blank stare. "You look… a little, uh. Lost."

"And you look like you barely got sleep last night," Sheik said. " _I_ might be tired, but you look _exhausted_."

Maybe it was petty, going for such a blatant distraction. But she couldn't let him keep asking her what was wrong; eventually she'd wear down. If that meant she had to force his attention elsewhere, so be it.

Link turned away, face and ears reddening. Had it been bashfulness, Sheik might not have minded. But there was a certain shame to the action, and Sheik couldn't help but wonder why innocent questions could cause him so much distress.

"I was just… thinking, that's all." Link bit his lip. "About everyone back home. And…"

"And?"

"And that we should probably hurry as much as we can to get back to them." Link laced his fingers with her, seeming to need the comfort. "I wish we didn't have to wait for a snowstorm to get to the girls. They deserve to go home too, you know?"

Sheik nodded. "I'm sure they'll last for another few days. If it's longer than that, we can always push Ashei and Shad to go sooner. We're pretty experienced by now, yeah? We should be able to bring them home no matter the conditions."

"I just hope that more of them are here than at any of the other cities." Link let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "And… if not, that we'd find out where the rest of them are."

"We need as much information as we can get," Sheik said. "We still know almost nothing about Kakariko, and why the soldiers are in the desert. Not to mention why all of this is happening in the first place, and who's been cursing the cities."

Link was quiet for a while, seemingly pondering something. "Well," he finally said. "Whoever it is really wants to get the Triforce of Wisdom. And the Triforce of Courage, too, more than likely. So… chances are, they already have the Triforce of Power."

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line. "That might explain some of it, yes. But whoever it is has to be a very powerful sorcerer to begin with, and having their power magnified by an outside force like this…"

"Wish we knew what set of powers these things had," Link said, gesturing mildly to his hand. "It's pretty confusing, you know? Only a few people have had them all through history, but… it's rare to see them actually _used_ for anything. Except the Triforce of Power, that is. That one seems to be able to do almost anything."

"Yours keeps you from dying, doesn't it?" Sheik glanced at his hand, though it was covered by half-gloves as usual. When Link nodded, she let out a low hum, considering the options. "It makes sense. If you know you're unlikely to die, you would feel capable of doing anything, wouldn't you? Nothing could hold you back."

Link furrowed his brows. "That… makes things a whole lot simpler, actually," he said. "But that still doesn't explain everything about mine… Or what the Triforce of Wisdom even _does_. I don't think I've ever heard of it actually being used."

Sheik thought back to the legend of the Hero of Time. "It does have a purpose," she said. "But I don't think its bearer ever talks about it much. Throughout history, it's been in the Royal Family's bloodline, to a select number of girls named Zelda. And usually, if someone is searching for it, she tries to hide it."

"I don't remember any legends like that." Link looked up at her, an obvious question in his eyes. "The Zelda from the legend of the Hero of Twilight didn't try to hide her Triforce—if she even had one, anyways."

"She did. And the fact that you doubt she had it means she did a good job concealing it," Sheik said. At Link's sudden suspicious look, she was quick to elaborate. "Impa often taught us history. Or, taught the history of Zelda. Much of it were things hidden from public record. I only know because I was nearby, and… Impa didn't see the harm in letting me listen."

"Oh." Link hummed, lips pulling into a frown. "I guess that makes sense. I didn't realize there was so much of those legends that common people don't get to hear…"

"I—I can teach you some of what I know," she said. Briefly, she considered letting Link borrow the manuscript Malon had given her, but… It would be too big of a coincidence if she told him about the Sheik from that story. "I can read some of it to you, if you'd like. Or tell you what I remember from Impa's lessons."

For some reason, Link's eyes brightened at the prospect. He nodded, and Sheik couldn't help but notice that even his voice was a bit more cheerful. "That… that would be nice, Sheik. But it'll have to wait for now—I think I can hear Shad and Ashei up ahead. We should probably talk about this later."

Sheik nodded. "From the sounds of it, we'll have plenty of time. The skies are still clear."

* * *

When they found Ashei and Shad, they were tucked away in a small room, eating what appeared to be a rather informal breakfast. Or, Ashei was, anyways. Shad looked like he was far more interested in the books and notes spread out on the table before him. It was the food, though, that caught Sheik's attention—and she knew it'd caught Link's too. It wasn't much, but after eating mostly dried foods, the small selection laid across the table was more than she could have hoped for.

"Are there extras?" Sheik asked, eyeing the yet untouched food on the table. "We only have foods that travel well, and we're saving most if it for the way back."

Ashei nodded, leaning back in her chair and hooking an arm around the back. "Yeah, help yourselves to anything you want here. We probably won't be sticking around for long after we get the girls out of there, so anything we leave behind will just get wasted."

It was all the permission Link needed, though he took care to keep Sheik between him and Ashei at all times. He seemed to be faring better than last night—especially now that he'd seen Ashei's face well enough to make a distinction—but there was still something off about his demeanor. Sheik hoped it would fade in time.

As he helped himself to some of the remains, Sheik looked around the room. It seemed there were no open tables where Link could totally avoid Ashei's gaze, so he'd have to make do wherever he sat. That in mind, Sheik casually loaded up a plate for herself and waited for Link to finish. If they couldn't sit in a safer spot, the least she could do was sit next to him and make sure he was alright.

Or as alright as he could be, anyways.

For the moment, with plenty of food in front of him and Sheik by his side, he almost looked okay. Not wanting to waste time or make him spend more time here than he had to, Sheik got straight to the point.

"So," she said, addressing Shad. "You all said you'd be telling us the plans today."

Ashei nodded. "We did," she said, nudging Shad with her elbow. "And we _will_ , too, if someone looks up from his studying for five minutes."

Shad hardly flinched, merely waving a hand at her as if she was a fly.

Sheik raised a brow. "Is he usually like this?"

"Worse," Ashei said. "And then he has the nerve to get upset when I pull him out of his office to eat."

Sheik glanced at Link, who was looking at her with a small smile. He almost looked cheerful—an expression she felt an instinctive protection over. Though part of her wanted to throw something at Shad to make him pay attention, she found she couldn't. If his inattentiveness was causing her partner some kind of happiness, she'd allow him to keep reading.

So instead, she returned her attention to breakfast. It wasn't the best, of course—but then, Sheik wasn't entirely sure what she even considered the best. Everything tasted better when she was hungry, after all, and considering her circumstances… In the past few years, she'd gone hungry more often than not.

Sheik sipped some coffee, attempting in vain to force thoughts of the past out. Fortunately if anyone noticed her bitter expression, she could easily blame it on the coffee's taste.

By the time Shad finally looked up, Sheik and Link were nearly finished with their breakfasts. Ashei, who'd likely eaten before either of them entered the room, looked about as bored as could be, and let out an audible sigh of relief when she noticed Shad was alert.

"We have work to do," she said, nudging him once more. "Your plans do you no good if you aren't going to read them to anyone else."

Shad looked somewhat embarrassed, but with three faces staring at him, he couldn't hide his face. "Right," he said. "I—I suppose I got somewhat lost in my studies. But in my defense, there's nothing more fascinating than Hyrule's history. I was just researching the passageways these old buildings were known for, and I discovered not only old floorplans, but why they were originally used! There was a war, you know, several centuries ago, and—"

Ashei cut him off by tapping her foot roughly against his. "Let's keep the notes within this century, yeah?"

Shad looked somewhat put out, but didn't let his anger out through more than a huff. "Perhaps later," he said, as if anyone was interested. "It isn't as if we'll be moving out for a few days, but… I suppose we ought to be prepared just in case."

"It's a snowstorm we're waiting for, wasn't it?" Link said, finally speaking up. He kept his eyes trained on Shad, which Sheik supposed was a good thing. "If, um, I'm remembering right, that is."

"You've got it right, don't worry," Ashei said. It seemed she hadn't noticed just how much he was avoiding eye-contact—Sheik hoped it would last. "We want to get in without being seen or heard if at all possible. They've got strong defenses at the very front—stronger now since two of their other compounds have been broken into and liberated."

"That… would be our doing," Link said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Yeah, well, it was just a matter of time." Ashei shrugged. "Point is, they added dozens of guards—maybe even a few hundred—to keep everyone out. It'd take a damn near miracle to penetrate it at this point, but… With four people, we can probably make something work."

"It looked like it would take a miracle to win at the warehouse in Marr," Sheik said, "And we managed that one just fine."

"How big was the warehouse at Marr?" Ashei said. "Bigger than this house?"

Sheik frowned. "Bigger. Twice this size, at least."

"The compound at Ise is approximately five times larger than this house," Shad said. "Perhaps larger. Calculations can only be made so accurate when viewed from the outside."

"But you said you had a detailed plan, didn't you?" Link asked. "You have to know what the compound looks like."

Shad glanced at Ashei, a small frown on his face. "We do—in a way. These are… fundamentally outdated maps. It's unlikely that they would have completely altered the state of the fortress, and we haven't seen any construction materials, but… We are dealing with people who use magic quite liberally, are we not? It's entirely possible that our plans are wrong."

"So you're leaving it to chance," Sheik said. "Funny. You sounded much stricter about your plans last night."

"We do have plans," Shad said, defensive. "It's just possible that they'll be completely scrapped once inside."

"And if they are?"

Ashei looked at Sheik with a strange expression. "What else do you want us to do, Sheikah? Make a dozen other plans? That'd take weeks!"

"If you rely too much on plans, you don't think on your feet when those plans fail." Sheik leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you're going to focus on plans, then you need to at least think about what you're going to do if something does go wrong."

Before she could further insult or antagonize their hosts, however, Link gently nudged her foot under the table. "We haven't even heard their plans yet," he said softly. "We need to at least give it a chance, don't we?"

"I never said we wouldn't." Sheik didn't sit up further, and she did nothing about the impassive, unimpressed expression on her face—but at least she didn't worsen her demeanor. "I'm willing to listen, but… I just don't want to rely completely on a plan—especially if it's based on maps that might not even match up to the current layout."

Though somewhat flustered, Shad nodded. "I suppose that's fair," he said. "But are you quite ready to hear the plans, then?"

Another look from Link, and Sheik reluctantly kept herself from any other arguments. With a curt nod, she braced herself for the numerous papers and notecards Shad had before him, knowing well in advance that this would be a long discussion.

* * *

In the end, the plan could have been summarized far more briefly than Shad had laid it out.

There were, apparently, two entrances to the base. There were also at least three floors, with each staircase guarded intensely to prohibit any unauthorized entry to floors they didn't have permission to visit. With the huge size of the compound, one floor was bad enough—but three, and possibly as much as five?

It looked impossible.

And it would have been, if not for the intense studying Shad had done on the place. Because it was built so long ago, there were still passageways leftover from the Hyrulean Civil War. And those, unless found and taken over by the monsters, would be a perfect way to get to and from the building.

After hearing that, though, Sheik couldn't help but speak up.

"If we're leaving by passageway," she asked, "Why do we have to wait for it to snow?"

"The snow covers the tracks that we'd be leaving behind if we _weren't_ using a passageway. That way they won't be surprised when they don't see tracks," Ashei said. "It would be the safest bet we'd have if we didn't have passageways—so it'll create a believable diversion for one team while the other frees the girls." Ashei glanced at Shad for support, and he nodded once, gesturing for her to continue. "We have to have teams no matter what, though. One person alone would be suicide, whether they're in the passageways or at the front gate. Both are bound to run into guards eventually, so everyone needs backup. But you're the better fighters, so…"

"You want us to be the distraction," Sheik said. "So you can sneak in and save them while we battle guards."

Though Ashei had said they were trying to _prevent_ a suicide mission by having partners, the plan still sounded like a march to their deaths. Maybe if they had an _army_ they could do it, but… From the looks of things, it was a plan doomed to fail.

But despite Sheik's worries, she knew she couldn't say no. Not when innocent lives were on the line.

"Of course you won't _just_ be a distraction," Shad said after Sheik and Link fell silent, hastily pulling out another paper. "Your goal is to fight through till you're inside, then seal off your attackers at this corridor," he said, pointing to a spot on a map. "Then you'll dip into a secret passageway that will connect with ours. You might get to actually help free the girls, but… you also might not. It depends on whether or not you arrive in time to help us. Either way, you can help provide backup while we leave."

"How will we know if you've freed the girls or not?" Link asked, a small frown on his face. "It's not like we can talk to each other once we're separated."

"There's a small corridor where we will set two flags," Shad said. "Ashei and I will pass through it as we enter. Once we pass it for the first time, we will raise the red flag. Once we pass it with all the girls, we'll raise the yellow flag."

"So the second half of our entire mission depends on whether or not you raise the right flag," Sheik said. "That's…"

"We aren't just gonna leave you hanging," Ashei said. "We know what's at stake."

"If we die saving these girls, we won't be able to go to other compounds and help them," Sheik said, hackles raising. Remembering Link's ultimate goal, she hastily added, "Not to mention we're searching for the King's Daughter. If we die without finding her—"

"We _aren't_ going to die," Link said. "The real risk is if we get captured and fail before we can get the girls to safety."

Sheik tried hard not to let her worries get the best of her. The only thing worse than dying while trying to save her people was to be captured. They'd searched for the King's Daughter for so long, and they were willing to capture anyone who might be her in the process—what would they do to her if they actually found her?

And what would happen if they realized they'd captured both the King's Daughter and the bearer of the Triforce of Courage?

Ashei and Shad watched Sheik and Link for a while, as if looking for a final decision.

"Give us a minute," Link finally said, looking at Sheik. "We'll just be in the hall. It's—We're going to help you for sure, but… We just need to talk for a minute, okay?"

"Take all the time you'd like," Shad said. "We have several days before we move, after all."

Somehow, despite the extra time, Sheik felt it wouldn't be half as much as they'd need.

* * *

Once they were in the hallway, far out of earshot, Link leaned against the wall, sliding down till he reached the ground.

"Well," he finally said. "That… I was expecting something a bit less risky than that, I have to admit."

"Marr wasn't riskier?" Sheik raised a brow. "I think we handled that fairly well with _less_ of a plan, all considered. But…"

Link's lips pulled into a grim frown. "I'd like to take a look at that map," he said. "And see his notes. There might have been a few safeguards he neglected to mention."

"I'm worried about their part of the mission, too," Sheik admitted. "If they get caught, then we'll have to do everything. Not to mention… what if the enemy already knows about the passageways? I always thought of monsters as stupid, but… They're capable of speech. They can even change their appearance to look like normal Hylians. They probably even have _actual_ Hylians working with them. I can't imagine that they'd be in that compound for so long and not have at least some knowledge of the passageways."

"We could always try our plan at Ecchar—just as a backup plan," Link said. "Sneak in as a hostage and then attack them when they aren't expecting it."

Sheik's stomach twisted at the very idea. She never wanted to be that helpless again—without even a knife to defend her, pretending to be drugged and unconscious as she was carried down an unfamiliar passageway.

But… if it was to help her people, who was she to do anything less?

Link must have seen how ashen her face became, though, because he was quick to cup her cheek. "Sheik… You don't have to if—"

"We can do it if we have to," she said. "But only if their plan falls through."

Link's lips pressed into a thin line, as if struggling not to say something. Finally he looked straight at her, making unwavering eye-contact. "I'd never leave you behind," he said. "You know that, don't you?"

"Their plan seems like it'll work fine," Sheik said. She quickly looked away, removing his hand from her face. "We should tell them yes, but we also need to work out some contingency plans. I'd think that they already had some, so maybe they have a few already drafted that we can look over."

"Sheik—"

Sheik stood, ignoring the pleading tone in his voice. "There's also the issue of where the girls can stay after this," she said. "I don't feel right about keeping them anywhere near that compound. The sooner they can go across Hyrule and get to safety, the better."

Link sighed. It seemed he'd accepted the change in topic, because he didn't try to bring it up again. "Do you think we could convince Ashei and Shad to take them to Lon Lon Ranch?"

"I think it'd be safer than most other places in Hyrule," she said. "But I don't think we could take them ourselves."

"No?"

"Kakariko," Sheik said. "After this, I need to go to Kakariko. We already knew there were girls we could save elsewhere when we heard about Kakariko, so it was fine to ignore it till now. But… after this, I have to go back, Link. I can't just ignore my home."

"But we know almost nothing about what happened to Kakariko," he said. "What if you can't do anything about it?"

"We've been able to help everywhere we've gone so far," Sheik said. "And if we've managed to save every other city, then… don't I have a responsibility to at least try to save my home town?"

Link furrowed his brows. He was quiet for a while, stuck on something, and when he finally found the voice to speak, it was soft and hesitant. "Are you sure it's safe?"

Sheik almost laughed. "Has anything we've done been safe?"

"No, I mean…" He looked at her seriously for a moment, then took her hand. "The princess was from there, too," he said carefully. "What if they're trying to bait her into coming back? You might get hurt."

"So I should just leave them to their own devices?"

"I didn't say that." Link stepped closer, not letting go of her hand. "I just… I don't know, Sheik. Something doesn't seem right about it. At least with the others, we knew something of what had happened. With Kakariko, either there were no survivors, or the survivors left with the city. If they're trying to herd everyone into other cities, then… why would they make all the citizens of Kakariko vanish?"

Sheik bit her lip. "That's what I need to find out. If they're… if they're holding them hostage, then I have an even bigger responsibility to help them." Not wanting to discuss the matter any longer—for the moment, anyways, she looked away and quickly added, "We need to go back and tell them our decision."

Though Link looked like he wanted to discuss it further, he must have seen the look in Sheik's eyes. So he sighed and nodded, hand still gently holding onto hers. "Alright," he said. "We'll tell them."

* * *

Evidently, Shad had plenty of prototypes of his final plans. Many were adapted from earlier plans for a full frontal invasion—back when they didn't have nearly the manpower to pull it off—but some of the plans would still work in a pinch.

There were so many back-up plans, in fact, that Sheik was grateful they had several days to review them. Plenty would work if utilized properly, and some would even work just for Sheik and Link's diversion.

However, as they reviewed some of the plans, Sheik felt a strange feeling in the back of her mind.

Just as when she'd been looking for Link and couldn't find him, and just as the night before, she had the feeling of foresight.

But this time, it came with something new.

Unlike the night Link had been missing, and even last night, when she'd had a strange premonition of something bad, this wasn't just a feeling or a voice.

Sight accompanied it.

There was a sudden, strong desire that rose within her, and she took hold of the maps and passageways Shad had devised. Her eyes were drawn to a series of large corridors near the exterior of the building, and as she stared at them, she got a sense that she was seeing something that wasn't actually there.

And the longer she stared, the bigger the picture became, and the more lifelike. And then, it moved.

Suddenly, it was as if she was _inside_ the corridor—and she wasn't alone. Monsters and Hylians moved within it, patrolling as if on watch. But the moment she realized what they were, the vision ended, and it was as if nothing had happened at all.

The only thing that lingered was a warm feeling on the back of her left hand.

Sheik looked around the room. Finally she got up, head feeling curiously light as she reoriented herself with reality. But as she got up, a hand enclosed her wrist, and she found herself unexpectedly turned towards Link.

"You look like you just saw a ghost," he murmured. "Did you… read something in Shad's notes?"

Sheik bit her tongue hard enough that she almost drew blood. She'd have to think quickly, or else Link would ask her more until she admitted the truth. "I—I did," she said. "And I think… I think he overlooked it, but the monsters know about some of the passageways. Not all of them. maybe—just—just these, for sure."

"Which ones?" Link asked, eyes widening. He looked at the map Sheik had just been examining, and watched as she pointed to a spot on the map. "…Those? How do you know?"

"I—I was just," she started, realizing all too late that anxiety and stress was building up almost to an overflow. She couldn't guess what had just happened—only that it was something very, very different from the Sheikah magic she had been taught. The heat in her left hand was already fading, but it still lingered, and she only had one guess what it could mean. "The entrances here," she said, pointing at small specks on the map, and the notes on the side detailing how to open the passageways. "They're… they're barely hidden. It's not like the others, where you have to tap a certain rock or pull a certain book from the shelves. These are fairly obvious. Isn't it—don't you think they would have found this one already?"

Link nodded, and when he looked back up, there was a sober look on his face. "I don't think anyone paid much attention to that," he said. "We have to tell Shad—this might alter the main plan. I think they might be planning to pass through this place on their way out."

"You tell them," Sheik said, suddenly standing. "I have to—there's something I need to take care of."

Without another word, she stood and left the room, panic just barely under wraps. To her eternal gratitude, she didn't hear footsteps behind her, so she took advantage of her solitude to run. Though the house was huge, there were only so many rooms, and she could only get so far away before the hallways looped back around and started to take her back to the parlor where everyone was waiting.

Sheik didn't stop till she was at the furthest corner of the house.

The library.

It was only when she was sure she was alone that she unraveled the wrappings on her hand. But, even as she started to unwrap it, she realized she could no longer feel that small heat coming from her hand.

Link's words suddenly came to mind—about how his Triforce was normally unseen, hidden beneath magic that kept it hidden. That it was only visible when it was being used.

But even if she couldn't see the marking, she knew that there was no other good answer. With shaking hands, she re-wrapped the bandages around her left hand, then sat down heavily in one of the library armchairs.

She didn't _want_ the Triforce of Wisdom.

But even if she didn't want it, it wasn't like she could give it up, either. Before, she'd been willing to ignore the possibility. Even if sometimes things happened without explanation—like the innate knowledge of where Link was hiding, and the feeling that something would go wrong—it wasn't so strange that she couldn't just ignore it.

A lump rose in her throat, and she realized far too late that she should have been prepared for this. But how could she be prepared for it when she was in denial?

Sheik closed her eyes and drew her knees to her chest. Making herself smaller wouldn't help her, she knew, but sometimes it was nice to pretend. Once, making herself small solved all of her problems—if she hid, then it didn't matter if she'd stolen something or someone had recognized her. She could just hide and if they didn't find her, she could live free another day.

She wished it were still that easy.

After a few minutes, she took a slow, deep breath, then forced her legs back down. Her head and heart were still going at dizzying speeds, but for now, she could manage them. She'd have to, if she was going to keep up the act.

But before she could even think about going back, the shelves along the library caught her eye.

There was more information than she knew what to do with. More than she'd seen in years, ever since libraries started shooing her out of their doors. Public spaces were supposed to be for everyone, and yet apparently some people had a problem with homeless Sheikah teens who stayed from dawn till dusk.

She had to spend her adolescence somehow, after all.

But then she grew up a little and started wearing the clothes Impa had left her. And suddenly, no one wanted to help a charity case orphan. No one wanted to donate food and money to a hungry child if it looked Sheikah. And no one wanted to help a starving teen if it looked old enough to work. (Never mind that no one wanted to hire a homeless Sheikah.)

Thieving and fighting replaced reading, and in what little free time she found, she practiced magic and looked for safe places on old maps.

Sheik closed her eyes before the sight of the library could overwhelm her. But, despite it, she could still smell old books and the leather of the armchairs. How could she not be at least a _little_ nostalgic when this library felt like the better parts of her adolescence?

Before she knew it, she was walking along shelves and searching for familiar titles. There was, as always, a small section dedicated to heroes of old—but Sheik was more than familiar with all the titles within it. Near it was a section on the general history of Hyrule and an expansive collection about the Hyrulean Civil War and the aftermath that followed. There were even in-depth volumes describing all known races, and the feuds between tribes throughout history.

But what really drew her eye was the collection about the royal family.

As a child, she'd always skipped over those titles. While she knew the basics from Impa and her father, she had always ignored it. For a time it had held her interest, after Impa had fled with her to Kakariko, but in time, her interest had faded. And once she'd realized her father was never coming back for her, she distanced herself from every book about the royal family she owned. It didn't matter whether her family was royalty, or if they were descended from the Goddess Hylia herself. All that mattered was that they'd abandoned her, and she didn't need to be anything for them.

But, as an adult…

Sheik's fingertips lingered over a volume. Every success, every failure, every action and inaction of previous kings and queens was recorded in this book. Everything that the modern world knew about her ancestors was written down, right there.

And it was just _waiting_ for her to open them.

Sheik bit her lip, tempted beyond belief.

But before she could decide whether to take it or leave it, she heard footsteps approach the room. Sheik snatched her hand away from the book and instead turned towards the opposite section—an extensive collection of Hyrulean plant life.

She pretended to be skimming it when she heard a knock on the bookshelf next to her.

"Sheik?" Link asked, and when she half twisted towards him, she pretended to be pleasantly surprised. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"You didn't," she said, turning back to the bookshelves. "I was just…"

"Doing some research?" Link suggested, walking towards her. "Finding anything interesting?"

Sheik bit the inside of her cheek. "Nothing yet," she said. "But I'm working on it."

Link nodded, but stopped short of actually approaching her. Instead, he leaned against one of the bookshelves, allowing it to support his weight. "Is it alright if I… if I stay with you for a little while? If you want to be alone I get it, but—"

The uncertainty in his voice felt like a physical assault. Sheik realized all too late that she'd left him alone in that room. Shad had been there, sure, but… so had Ashei.

She turned in an instant and walked towards him, looking him over as she went. "Did anything happen?" she asked, furrowing her brows. Though she knew Ashei wouldn't have assaulted him, he had been stressed enough last night that she couldn't be too careful. "Did she say anything to you?"

Link shrugged. Whatever had happened, she could only assume he didn't want to say, and Sheik would have to respect that. Still, he looked distinctly uncomfortable as he rubbed his arm and avoided eye-contact. Between that and how pale he looked, Sheik knew he wasn't alright.

"If you want, you can read to take your mind off of it," she said. "I—I came in here for—well, it's not important, but then I got distracted with all the books." She glanced back to the royal family's history, then flickered her eyes back to Link. "I think a break from reading maps might be good for the both of us."

Link let out a slow breath, seeming to relax. "That'd be nice," he admitted. "I… Yeah. We should. But, um," he started, somewhat awkwardly avoiding eye-contact despite being so close to her. "I—do you… I've never been much good at reading things close-up."

It took Sheik a moment to realize what he was asking. Or, trying to ask. "Do you want me to read aloud?" she asked, trying to hide the quirk of a smile on her lips. "Is this why you looked so chipper earlier when I said I could read you something from that old legend?"

When Link's cheeks dusted pink, Sheik knew she'd caught him.

But she was quick to reassure him, keeping her voice uncharacteristically soft. "I don't mind, Link," she said. "Really. Though, I don't know why you'd want to hear my voice of all things."

"It's nice," Link said, far too quickly, and with the pink cheeks to match. "It's… rough." At Sheik's confusion—wasn't that an insult?—Link was quick to add, "In a good way! It's just—it's nice. I like it."

The compliment made Sheik doubly glad she had dark skin to mask the heat behind her cheeks. "Right," she said, stepping further away. As she really realized what she'd offered, Sheik had difficulty maintaining eye-contact. "About the book, though. It's—I mean, it's written in an older form of Hylian. I'll have to change a lot of the words I read aloud for it to make sense."

"That's alright," he said. "You can change it if you need to, I don't mind."

And that, Sheik realized, was a statement she could work with. If she was given permission to change elements of the storytelling… wasn't it possible to change the reveal?

Sheik remembered that the book was still in their room, in a small bag separate from everything else she owned. "I'll be right back," she said, already starting for the door.

It felt wrong, though, to leave without giving Link _something_ —especially for all the strange nervousness they'd danced around earlier. On instinct, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against his temple, then continued out of the room without a word.

* * *

By the time she'd returned, he'd pulled two chairs close together. Sheik wasted little time in getting seated and opening to the first page of the journal, only waiting till Link was seated and looking expectantly up to her.

As she spoke, she couldn't help but think of Impa, and of how often she'd been told stories in her youth.

But this was different, somehow. Impa had told her stories to pass on information and to instruct. And Sheik… Sheik was telling stories to put Link at ease, and to let him hear her voice. It felt less like giving a lesson than it did like giving a gift.

It made her feel calm like nothing else. Despite knowing she'd have to choose her words carefully later, for now, the story was untouched.

Sheik cleared her throat, then finally, finally, started to read.

" _When I was a child_ ," she read. " _I was the only boy of the Kokiri Tribe without a fairy_ …"

* * *

Over the next several days, Sheik and Link divided their time between making searching for feasible backup plans, and reading through the Hero of Time's journal.

Though it was tedious, Sheik was glad for the break. Looking back, they hadn't had a real break in months—not since she'd first met Link in Solen. Even before that, she'd been thieving to finance her lifestyle, and a life on the run wasn't exactly easy.

Honestly? Sheik couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much down time—or felt so safe. Though Telma's seemed safe enough, it was still a heavily populated city, and she had been a wanted thief for years. No one knew it was Sheik who was doing the thieving, but… Well. She still couldn't help her paranoia.

It had led to taking unnecessary precautions, but if it meant not being found—especially once she started thieving and getting into fights on the rare occasion she was caught—then she could live with it. A life on the run wasn't easy, but it had allowed her to keep her freedom.

It was nice to rest up here in the mountains, though.

But as nice as it was for her to relax, it was almost better to watch Link relax. It was no Telma's Bar, but, in a way, he almost looked more at ease here. There was plenty of food, a comfortable bed, no one to impress, and the most demanding thing they had to do was read and strategize.

Throughout the week, she'd read almost every book on Hyrule's history they had, including the royal family's legacy. There were even notes that had been conveniently left out of modern textbooks—like the feud between the Sheikah and the Gerudo, and the outright disappearance of ancient races like the Mogmas and Kokiri. In fact, sometimes it seemed that the only races that had stood the test of time were the Hylians, the Gorons, and the Sheikah—and even then, just barely. Races with hundreds of years of posterity, like the Gerudo, could disappear without a trace. It had only taken a single generation—the era following the Zelda from the legend of the Hero of Time—for them to be wiped out.

Sheik wondered what had happened to cause their disappearance, but nothing seemed to explain it. She supposed it would have to be stored in her mind along with all her other questions about Hyrule's history. For the moment, though, she couldn't bring herself to get too worked up about it. They were at Ise, and safe, and she and Link could actually take time to rest. _Really_ rest. Not just relax for an evening before going out and getting supplies and taking off the next day.

Sheik was half certain she hadn't had so much down time since she'd lived with Impa.

Of course, she and Link still sparred—Sheik wouldn't know what to do with herself if she didn't do _anything_ active. But even sparring was more laid-back and relaxed than it was when they were travelling.

Part of her didn't want their stay at Ise to end.

But it had to end eventually, and the storm-clouds were proof enough.

She and Link had been going over final plans before Shad suddenly walked in, a sober look on his face. "It's beginning to storm," he said. "We need to be ready before dawn."

Sheik glanced at Link, who was staring straight ahead at Shad. "We'll be ready," he said. "About the final plans, though… We're still going with—"

"The ones we've been discussing," Shad said, nodding. "It would be foolish to change it so late when we've memorized it so thoroughly by now."

Link forced a grim smile. "Right."

There was silence in the room for a while, but finally Shad rested his hand against the doorframe, his unsteady gaze betraying his nervousness even if his voice didn't. "Get plenty of rest tonight," he said. "We—we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Without another word, he bowed his head an exited the room, leaving Link and Sheik alone.

"Think you'll be able to sleep?"

Link looked up at Sheik, surprised at the question. "Doubt it," he said. "But I can try."

"Need to spar to tire yourself out?" Sheik asked. "We can overdo it a little, if you need."

"Thanks, but…" Link bit his lip, shaking his head. "I think we'd do better to save our energy. Dawn's going to come early."

"If all goes well, we'll be back here by sunset," she reminded him. "It won't be like Marr. We won't be up all day and all night."

"And you won't bleed out on the way back," Link said. "Promise me?"

Sheik reached for his hand, gently tracing her thumb over the back of it. "You know I can't promise you anything," she said. "I can't predict the—"

The words died on her lips, and she realized she couldn't tell any lies. Not to Link.

Goddesses—it was just an expression, and yet she couldn't even say it. She wasn't even sure if she _could_ predict the future, but that vision of the compound, and the way she had strong intuition about something bad that was coming…

She couldn't lie to him.

…If he asked her if she was the King's Daughter, would she be able to tell him no?

"You can't predict what?" Link asked, furrowing his brows at her abrupt silence. "The future?"

"I—I can't promise you anything," she said. Realizing that she had made a terrible mistake, she quickly stood, letting go of his hand. "I have to—to ask Ashei something. Excuse me."

She didn't miss the way Link stared after her, but whatever he wanted to ask, he restrained himself. Sheik counted it as a blessing and didn't question it.

* * *

It wasn't a lie. She really did need to speak to Ashei.

Though it had already been decided that she and Shad would be taking the girls from Ise all the way back to Lon Lon Ranch, Sheik had a more personal request. Though she knew Ashei and Shad hadn't planned on staying there for long, she did want Ashei to stay for at least a few days. Malon had probably already taught the girls' plenty of self-defense, but… it wouldn't hurt for them to have another teacher, if Sheik couldn't be there herself.

She also needed to send a message to Malon for slightly more private reasons. Knowing Shad's love of history, she knew it would be a difficult thing for him to avoid the journals of the Hero of Time.

If there was anyone who'd figure her out, it would be Shad.

And though she knew he was a good guy—he was helping to save the girls in Ise, after all—she still didn't want to trust him with her secret. Not to mention he wasn't one to keep discoveries quiet. He'd try to publish the journals for all to see. And not only would that be bad for Sheik's privacy, it would also be hard on Malon.

Her family had kept those journals hidden for generations. Several centuries, by now.

So she sent along a note to Malon with forewarning, hoping that Ashei would give it to the ranch-hand first thing. After that, though, Sheik took to avoiding Link.

It was almost impossible that he didn't already know she was hiding _something_. And for how smart he was, Sheik wouldn't put it past him to already know the truth. Part of her wondered if that was the only reason he'd stayed by her for so long.

Was he just carrying out his job?

However, she couldn't put off seeing him forever. So that night, once it was dark, she came back to their shared room. Not bothering to turn on a lamp, she quietly pulled off her outer suit till she was in her training clothes beneath it.

Not daring to wake Link if he was already asleep, she merely lifted the covers and crawled in beside him, avoiding touch.

But despite Link's silence, he was awake. And once she was close enough, he slowly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer towards him.

Sheik might have leaned against him before, but after today, she tensed in his hold. Link noticed immediately and was quick to let go, but, unfortunately for Sheik, was even quicker to speak up.

"Is something wrong?" he whispered. "You've been avoiding me since… Since we talked in the library."

Though she was tempted to, Sheik didn't turn towards him. Instead she stared straight ahead at the door, tense even after he'd removed his hand. "Just nervous about tomorrow," she said. And if she really thought about it, it wasn't a lie. She was terrified of what might happen tomorrow. "Get some sleep, Link. You'll need it for tomorrow."

"We'll both need it for tomorrow," he said. Still, he hesitated, and Sheik knew he was trying to decide on something. "But… I just… I need to know if you're angry with me."

Sheik finally turned towards him, brows furrowed. "Why would I be angry with you?"

Though Link had clearly been trying to get her attention, he looked away when she asked. "I just… prefer knowing when someone's angry with me, that's all."

There had to have been more to it, Sheik knew. His averted eyes were proof enough. But she didn't know what was making him react like that. Sheik bit her lip, wondering what she could say or do to make things better. But she was at a loss, and found herself hesitating with her words. "…Do you," she started, "Do you want me to tell you from now on if I'm angry with you or not?"

"No," Link said quickly. "I mean—yes, but not if it bothers you."

"You're the one that's bothered," Sheik said. "Not me."

Link bit his lip. "And you… don't mind, really?"

"Not enough for it to matter." At her words, Link looked a little crestfallen, and Sheik was quick to backtrack. "It doesn't bother me at all. Besides," she added, "It's not like I ever really get angry with you." When Link was quiet for a while, Sheik furrowed her brows and looked a little closer at his face. "…You know that, right?"

Link quickly looked away, voice a little higher than usual. "Sometimes it's hard to tell?" Once he saw the look on Sheik's face, he hastily added, "I mean—sometimes you wear that mask and even when you're not, sometimes you… I mean… You look angry and I'm not sure if you're angry at me or someone else. Or even if you're mad at someone else and might…"

Sheik frowned. "Might what?"

"T…" He hesitated, seeming to struggle with the word. "Take it out on me."

It took a moment for his words to even register, but when they did, Sheik was still confused. "Why… would I take it out on you if you did nothing wrong?"

When Link didn't reply for a while, Sheik knew it had to have something to do with his past. The past he wasn't quite willing to talk about yet. So with a sigh, she laid down again, finally cuddling against him. Though she'd been adverse to cuddling before, she certainly wanted to now. After all,f it meant making Link feel better, she was willing to do most anything.

So she gently turned him around then tucked against his back. With how fast his heart was beating and how stiff he felt, Sheik hesitated before she wrapped her arms around him. But once he gave a slight nod and lifted his arms to give her space, she knew she was welcome. Gently—more gently than she thought she knew how—she slipped her arms though the empty space and wrapped them around his waist.

"I'll tell you if I'm ever angry with you, alright?" she murmured, pressing her lips briefly against Link's shoulder. "And if you're ever not sure, just ask. I… I don't like lying to people. Not about things like that."

Link fell silent for a while, hesitant and still. Finally he sighed, evidently giving up on his train of thought. He leaned against her touch, pulling her arms a little tighter around him. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I shouldn't have to… You have your own issues. Don't worry so much about this."

"Doesn't mean you don't have your own." Sheik sighed against his shoulder, finally closing her eyes. "But it's late. And we need plenty of sleep if we're going to survive tomorrow." With her voice dropping even lower, she spoke so quietly it was almost inaudible. "And… even if I ever was mad at you… I want you to be alright, got it?"

For several seconds, her partner was absolutely still. Fearing that Sheik had said something wrong, there was an apology just on the tip of her tongue.

But instead, Link finally spoke up. "Thank you," he whispered. "I—I just… Thanks, Sheik."

Able to find her voice, Sheik pressed her face against his shoulder, leaving featherlight kisses against his shoulder to convey what she couldn't say aloud.

It bothered her, just a little, that he couldn't talk to her about what was really going on with him. But she wasn't one to talk about keeping secrets. So as she fell asleep with Link still held tightly in her arms, Sheik contented herself with knowing he was safe for the moment.

Whatever Link was truly upset about, they'd have to discuss it later.

And in the interest of not getting distracted while on the battlefield… it would be preferably after tomorrow.

* * *

The trip to the compound wasn't the worst of it. No, Sheik decided. The worst of it was that Ashei and Shad got to take the cozy, comfortable tunnels between the buildings, and she and Link were stuck in the cold. Without Epona. And with a shoddy map to guide them.

It was a miracle they even arrived at the compound at all.

Or, it would have been a miracle, had Sheik not had the Triforce of Wisdom guiding her.

The directions weren't abundantly clear, of course. The few landmarks around the area were almost impossible to spot, which would have made the map useless if they couldn't find them. Fortunately between the two of them, they managed to follow the course.

When they finally reached the compound's entrance, Sheik and Link had to stop and stare.

The compound was huge—far, far bigger than Marr had been.

But at least this time they had actually gotten enough sleep. And Sheik had magical reserves in spades, and Link had brought several red potions along—just in case. Between their winter gear and their weapons, though, the trip had been long and tiring—and it had been difficult to communicate over the howling of the wind.

Even now, Link's voice was almost lost to the wind. "The guards haven't seen us, yet," he said, nearly having to shout to be heard, and Sheik leaned closer to him so he wouldn't have to speak so loudly. "But they're placed pretty randomly around the front of the building. Are we going with plan—"

"The one where we split up and use the storm as cover?"

Link nodded. "I don't think we can shout for help above the storm, though. If you need backup, just—try to get away and I'll come back with you, if you need it."

Instead of agreeing, Sheik turned to face him and put a hand on his shoulder. "The same goes for you. If you need help, _tell me_."

"My Triforce will revive me, Sheik," he said. "I can handle myself. You're the one I'm worried about."

The reckless answer did nothing to ease Sheik's worries. So she held tighter to his shoulder, staring him down as best she could. "Don't leave it up to fate. Besides, you—you don't want to leave a trail of blood they can follow."

That, more than anything else, got Link to reconsider. Still, he was hesitant, and though he tried to mask his expression, Sheik knew the worried slant of his brows. "Promise you'll ask for help if you need it," he said. "And I'll promise the same."

Sheik nodded fervently. "Promise."

"Alright," Link said. "…Stay safe. I'll take the left and work towards the middle. You can take the right. We'll try to meet up in the middle and get to the door from there."

Before they split apart though, Sheik gently cupped his cheek, tracing over the soft—if chilled—skin. "…Look after yourself," she said softly. And, against her better judgment, she leaned in close to kiss him. But though she knew she was brave enough, she didn't know if Link was ready. So she tilted her face to the side at the last moment, and kissed his cheek instead. "…I'll see you later."

Though she had the feeling that everything would go horribly wrong, she couldn't stay here forever. So while he was still pressing his hand over his cheek—as if to help her kiss linger—Sheik took a few steps back.

And with that, she walked to the end of the far side, intent on working her way back to the middle—and to Link.

* * *

Battling on her own was nowhere near as fun as fighting alongside her teammate. Though she didn't feel as though she'd ever— _ever_ —taken Link for granted, it was hard to adjust now that he was gone. If she really needed him, she was sure she could slip away from her half of the battle… But that would ruin the element of surprise.

Separated, they could work quickly and efficiently, with half the chance of being spotted… especially with the white cloaks they'd donned to stay hidden in the storm. Sheik had no qualms against sneaking up behind a monster and killing it without a sound, either. To her relief, all of the monsters exploded into black dust—meaning that there had been no Hylians among them.

However, it was likely that these monsters were only outside because they could last in frigid conditions better.

Meaning that all of the Hylians were inside.

Sheik wasn't looking forward to having to battle them. Generally speaking, they put up much more of a fight. They were harder to trick, tougher, and had the capability to work together rather than facing opponents one on one.

All Sheik and Link needed to do for now, though, was to beat the guards outside. Once they entered the doors, alarms would be sounded, and more enemies would rush to the front rooms of the building…

Meaning that Ashei and Shad would have fewer monsters to face in the interim.

After silently slicing her katana through what must have been her fifteenth enemy, though, it seemed that the guards had finally wised up.

After so many had silently fallen, it had taken quite some time for anyone to notice they were missing—especially because of the poor visibility within the storm. But now that they had noticed a disturbance, the remaining monsters were alerting each other to the problem.

Sheik cursed beneath her breath. Even though she'd taken out so many, there were still twenty left on this side alone—maybe more.

She didn't have time to think about how Link might have been faring, and he was so far away still that she could neither hear nor see him. Sheik could only hope that he was doing better than she was, though considering his luck, she wouldn't be surprised if he was in a fight for his life.

Though he'd since proved himself more than a capable fighter, Sheik couldn't forget how she'd first found him.

The thought of him bleeding out on the other side of the compound strengthened her resolve, and Sheik continued after the monsters without mercy.

There was no point in hiding anymore, so Sheik discarded the white cloak she'd been given by Ashei. Though it had kept her warm, she knew she'd be moving fast enough now that it would only be a hindrance to her.

Fortunately only about half of the monsters were even within range, with the remaining monsters (the ones closer to the door) oblivious to the plight of their comrades. Sheik was grateful; eleven monsters was difficult enough. She didn't think she'd have a chance if all of them circled around her.

Eleven was still too many at once, though, so she was quick to lead them away from each other.

The monsters were fast, but Sheik was faster. And it was a good thing, too. From a greater distance, she could simply throw knives at them 'til they ran out. But then, she only had so many knives.

One by one they fell, and Sheik was starting to feel as though she had the advantage—as if she could actually do this.

Then she ran out of throwing knives.

Not wasting time to dwell on it, Sheik charged forward, attempting (rather fruitlessly) to pick up her knives on the way. The monsters gave her little time, though, and Sheik was only able to collect a small portion of them on her way forward.

As she was moving forward, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going wrong. It wasn't just the feeling of being overwhelmed, either.

She was too focused on the task at hand to pay it much mind, and she couldn't tell if her thoughts were aimed towards Link, or the team of Shad and Ashei.

Either way, she couldn't dwell on it. There was nothing she could do now but take on all the monsters that she could, and pray that she beat them in time to move on and help the others.

…Still, the thought that she was needed was enough to push her. She didn't give herself time to think; instead, she ran forward and slashed away at the monsters, taking advantage of every weakness she found. Link might have been a more honorable fighter, but Sheik would take no prisoners. Even if they had been Hylian, her blade wouldn't have stayed even for a moment.

That wasn't to say she came out unscathed, however. Now that she was fighting in close quarters, the monsters had ample chance to hurt her. The speed at which she was moving didn't help things, either. Rushing, after all, meant that she wasn't half as focused on the fights as she ought to be. And, inevitably, she came out more injured than she wanted to admit.

Considering the monsters were all illusions and creations of magic, Sheik knew the blood on the ground was her own. She ignored the pain, though, allowing cuts to bleed freely as she continued forward.

Because of how much she'd rushed, Sheik almost couldn't believe it when she came to the end of her segment. No guards remained from her side, but from the center staircase, she could easily see the guards lining the other side.

Link's side.

She couldn't blame him for not being finished yet. Sheik had been rushing, and the scatters of blood mixed in with black ash was proof enough. But she couldn't stop now—not when Link was still fighting.

It was definitely getting cold without her cloak, and Sheik was starting to sorely miss it. But by now it was probably cold and wet from the snow, and Sheik wouldn't risk going back for it, anyways. So she pressed on with her Sheikah ensemble, not even trying to hide her presence.

She had taken out only a few guards before she was close enough to finally— _finally_ —hear Link nearby.

Link was far outnumbered in a fight where all the monsters were trying to gang up on him. And though he was clearly still trying to put up a fight, there was something sluggish and… downright _strange_ about his movements.

Sheik didn't have time to waste thinking about it. She ran towards the circle, taking out the monsters closest to her before they had time to think. She thought nothing of slicing away the monsters from behind, not caring as clouds of dust exploded into her face as she continued on.

Not wanting to get trapped inside the circle when the monsters regrouped, though, Sheik stayed outside of it, trying her hardest to pick them off from the outside before they realized what was going on.

But though they were predictable, they weren't stupid.

Soon the circle broke, scattering into an entirely new formation.

Now that there wasn't a circle around him, Link's fighting ability drastically increased, and he seemed far more like himself. Sheik didn't have much time to watch, so instead she merely focused on the task at hand—namely, the monsters that had it out for her.

But just as with the other side, Sheik slowly but surely beat them.

In a matter of minutes, there was nothing but ash, blood, and silence throughout the front gate.

With no fight to keep her motivated, Sheik had no qualms about sitting on the stairs to rest.

Link soon joined her, gently leaning against her. He seemed mildly surprised at the warm, wet blood that stained his tunic's side, but fortunately he didn't comment on it. Instead, he simply let out a sigh and let himself enjoy the moment, if just for a few seconds.

"We still have the interior," Sheik said. "Either we go inside and take advantage of their surprise, or they'll come out here eventually."

"We can take a break for a minute," he said. Not waiting for Sheik's reply, Link carefully pulled out a bottle of potion, handing it to Sheik. "You need to be more careful next time."

Sheik grudgingly took it from his hands, but only drank about half. The wounds didn't need to close for now; all they needed to do was stop bleeding freely. There was plenty of red potion left—she didn't know how many bottles Link had taken, exactly, though she knew it was plenty—but she didn't want to waste it for a non-emergency. So she passed it back to Link, allowing him to take a quick drink before putting it back in a pouch on his hip.

They didn't have much time to waste, so Sheik quickly got back on her feet and offered Link a hand. When he took it, Sheik pulled him up, then started for the door's entrance.

It was locked, unsurprisingly, but Sheik had enough magical reserves to break it open.

And when she did, every single plan they'd created came to a screeching halt.

Because amidst all the splendor of the compound, all the winding staircases and the bookshelves and chandeliers, the compound was _nothing_ like the maps.

Sheik looked at Link, and at the shock plain on his face. But they'd do no good if both of them were frozen in place. Plans gone awry or not, there couldn't turn around now. There were girls to save somewhere within the compound—not to mention Shad and Ashei. Wherever they were at the moment, they couldn't have been doing well.

So Sheik stood up straighter and drew her katana, stance ready for a fight. There were too many monsters to remain stealthy now that they didn't have the cover of the storm.

…And especially not when the monsters in the room had all turned to face them.

"Are you ready?" Link asked, sword and shield already at the ready.

Sheik nodded. "I'll see you when this is finished."

* * *

 **A few answers to guest reviewers first:**  
 **-I've been trying to add a few more descriptions, but it's never been something I focused on much in the past, so it's difficult for me to remember to do it. I'll try to do it more often though, thank you for reminding me!**  
 **-The relationship between Sheik and Link is … tentative. They have a solid working partnership at the moment, and a strong friendship, but… where they stand romantically is shaky at best. However, they'll have something a bit more solid soon!**  
 **-Several months have passed since they first met. A month was spent going to and from Marr alone, and they've gone to an awful lot of other cities. I had the math somewhere, but I believe the final tally was somewhere around four and a half months, maybe five? I believe they met around late summer, and now winter is approaching.**

 **Thank you as always for staying with me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that you'll continue to enjoy them to come. If you liked this chapter (and, of course, even if you didn't), please leave a review, and don't forget to follow or favorite! Thank you so much, and have a wonderful day!**


	24. Chapter 24

**((Happy 4** **th** **of July! This will be proofread by Myricle and updated once she finishes her read-through, but for now, I'm posting this version. (I know a lot of you end up reading the chapter several days later anyways.) A quick answer to Filibuster first, though: I don't have a set schedule for updates, sorry! I write, which takes a while now that the chapters are long, and then I go back through and change scenes a little, and edit. And then I post. But now there's an extra step, which will be going back and adding the proofread/corrected chapter after Myricle does a quick read-through. EDIT: Which, as of today, has been completed!**

 **Happy reading!))**

* * *

Sheik was sure she'd never been so tired in her life.

Her arms, though long since exhausted, were probably the _least_ pained part of her, with everywhere else having sustained some kind of damage long ago. In the twenty minutes she'd been fighting, she'd been thrown into two walls—and nearly broken _through_ one of them—and grazed with swords and daggers more than she was comfortable admitting.

The worst of it, though, was how _tired_ she was getting.

There were so many monsters in the front room that Sheik didn't even have the energy to count how many she'd taken out—and she didn't even want to think about how many she and Link _still_ _needed_ to kill. The only good thing about the odds stacked against them, and the sheer number of enemies, was that the monsters couldn't take them on all at once.

And despite a good portion of these creatures being Hylian, Sheik had fought almost entirely monsters so far—which was never good.

She knew what the Hylians were doing. They were sending all the monsters out to fight first, trying to waste Sheik and Link's energy before they even had a chance to fight the smarter, more strategy-minded Hylians.

Not for the first time, she hated their Hylian enemies more than any monster. These were _people_ , fighting for an entity that had kidnapped young girls and was driving thousands of people out of their homes. Sheik didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse as she slid her katana through their bellies.

It had taken all the resourcefulness and agility she had to avoid getting killed already. She was using moves that she hadn't used since Impa had taught them to her. After all, when she was but a child, she had needed every edge she could get. She used their size against them, their own bodies as leverage, and was willing to twist and contort to strike unblockable blows. It had been easier as a child—she'd been lighter then, and smaller—but now she had the power to make them even deadlier. But despite her best efforts, her energy was waning, and the room was still filled with far too many monsters.

If she was going to make it out of this one alive, she needed a _real_ strategy. The monsters had the upper hand, and the Hylians were currently holding all the cards and deciding the rules. And, judging from the cries of pain and exertion from Link, he wasn't having any easier of a time than Sheik was. She needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

And for that, she needed time to think.

So though she felt bad for temporarily leaving Link alone, she knew he couldn't be in more danger than he already was. Monsters could only cluster so much around someone—and Sheik's absence wouldn't change the fact that only a few could fight him at once. (She thanked Nayru that they weren't trying to enclose him in a circle again, though.)

Sheik dodged her way across the room, till finally she found a vantage point atop a bannister. It was still too low for her to be out of reach, so she checked her options. Seeing a curtain nearby and a high, mostly unguarded balcony further up, Sheik grabbed onto it and swung.

Thankfully, the curtain was strong enough that she made it to the other side, and once she was close enough, she flipped off of it and stuck her landing. The few guards on the top seemed surprised at her entrance, but Sheik paid them no mind. Figuring that the least she could do was help Link a little, she beat the guards—all four being Hylians—until they offered no resistance. Then, she threw them off of the balcony, aiming to take down as many monsters as she could with their fall. There was an explosion of black smoke, and she was grateful to have knocked down at least eight monsters from the impacts.

Link looked up towards her, but Sheik signaled him not to draw attention to her. Though Link looked confused, he soon looked away, instead focusing on his current opponents.

Sheik knew she didn't have a lot of time before the monsters set their sights on her again, so she quickly surveyed the room. Ideally, she was hoping for a bottleneck, or a way to kill off most of the monsters at once. But either way, she'd have to somehow alter their environment.

After a moment, she spotted the wall she'd nearly been thrown through, and suddenly, an idea sparked in her head.

In order to put it into place, she'd need Link's help—and the unwitting help of the monsters.

She jumped from the balcony, taking down one Hylian guard as she landed, then maneuvered her way over to Link.

"We can't keep this up," she said, mindful of the monsters surrounding them. "But I have a plan."

"Yeah?" Link was panting, the word barely audible between his exertion and the clang of his blade. "And what— _exactly_ —does that entail?"

"See the cracks on that wall?" Sheik asked, gesturing to a spot half across the room. "I was almost thrown through it earlier. If we hit it much more, we'll get through it."

"And how's that gonna help? There's probably more monsters on the other side!"

"That's where one of the tunnels is," Sheik said. Remembering her vision, and the sight of monsters inside it, she bit her lip, hesitating briefly as she continued fighting. One of the monsters she was fighting nearly sliced her side clean open, but Sheik moved out of the way enough that it barely grazed her. There was obvious pain in her voice as she spoke, though. "The— _agh_ —monsters know about it, but I'm almost positive there aren't that many of them inside. It'll give us a break."

Though Link looked concerned at Sheik's injury, there wasn't exactly time for him to help her. Instead, he doubled his efforts in driving the monsters further back, having to raise his voice a little now that she was further away. "And how are we supposed to keep the monsters from following us inside?"

"I'll handle that. You just open the hole and get inside. Bottleneck the monsters—keep them coming at you one by one, and see if you can't make a spear out of some of the wreckage so you can skewer them when they come."

Though Link looked wary, he didn't argue. Instead, he gave her a hesitant nod then slowly started maneuvering towards the hole in the wall.

That left Sheik to work on killing their enemies in one fell swoop. It would be highly unlikely to kill _all_ of the monsters, of course. But she could get rid of most of them. And once most were gone, then it would be easy to fight the rest of them now that they weren't in a swarm.

So as Link made his way across the room, Sheik journeyed back to the balcony she'd been standing on earlier. It was big, and supported by three huge pillars. Connected to that was a long staircase that was held up by several thinner pillars.

If she could take down those pillars, and somehow trap the monsters underneath the balcony, then she could dispose of them all at once.

All she needed to do was weaken all of them, and then trigger a complete collapse of the main three. With those gone, the entire balcony and staircase would— _hopefully_ —fall.

…Even if she got crushed by the impact, she could rest assured that Link would be okay. The hole in the wall was away from the balcony, and so long as he was safely inside, he wouldn't get hurt. That in mind, Sheik started planning how to actually get it to fall. And, with a slightly dark glint in her eye, she started putting it into motion.

Some of the monsters had axes. Huge, heavy, painful things—and they could do a lot of damage if she was hit by one. So far she'd just been avoiding the monsters that had axes, but now she realized they could serve a greater purpose.

She didn't wait for one of them to notice her and try to kill her. Instead, she approached one of them from behind and hit him in the back of his head, knocking him out but not killing him. Once he was down—even if it was only for a few seconds—she stole his axe and started chopping at the columns. It was huge, and heavy, and Sheik was already tired—but if this plan worked, then she could rest easy for a while afterwards.

Fortunately for her, now that she had an axe, most of the monsters were giving her a slightly wider berth.

And now that they were avoiding her, and realizing just how many she and Link had already killed—at _least_ fifty inside—they were starting to become just a bit more intimidated.

That meant she could get more under the balcony if she herded them just right. It was cruel, she knew, but at the moment, the only thing she could think of was killing as many of them as possible.

After she had taken a few swipes at all of the support pillars—having to travel all across the room and tiring herself almost to the point of exhaustion—she finally travelled to the three main ones in the center of the room. They'd take a lot more energy to chop down, but what choice did she have?

As she went, though, she had to keep her mind on all the enemies that were still trying to attack her… and on not dying before she finished fighting. Her more serious injuries—especially the one on her side—were starting to bleed in earnest, but she couldn't be bothered with them. Not when there was so much to still get done.

Just as she had started to weaken the one furthest to the left, she heard Link's voice from across the room.

"Sheik!"

"I'm kind of busy at the moment," she shouted back. "Just stay where you are!"

Despite Link's warning, Sheik kept hacking away at the pillars, making sure each was just on the point of collapse before going to the next. Finally, all were cracked and ready to break except the middle one—the one bearing the most weight. Knowing that it would all come crashing down once she completely obliterated the center one, she focused all her energy on it.

Before she could deliver the finishing blow, though, she felt a sudden, strong mental urge. Her hand suddenly felt hot, and she knew that whatever was happening, there was influence from the Triforce of Wisdom.

It seemed to be telling her to hold on, and though Sheik didn't want to, she allowed it, just for the time being. Whatever she was waiting on needed to hurry up, though. She could only force the monsters back for so long before they realized what was going on and tried to leave.

In her hesitation, though, Link completely ignored her order to stay put.

He rushed forward, sword drawn and a bright glow from his left hand. It seemed the mark of the Triforce of Courage was enough to intimidate the monsters and the Hylians alike, because they practically ran from him, seeking to run out the front door and take their chances with the outside world.

Sheik didn't intend on giving them that option.

When Link stopped short of the balcony, Sheik felt the Triforce of Wisdom urge her to take the final blow on the middle column.

For a moment, it seemed that nothing was happening.

And then, all at once, the columns crumbled under the weight of the balcony. The balcony tipped forward with a sickening crack, then fell completely on top of the monsters still trying to flee.

The dust and rubble from the explosion wasn't easy to dodge, but fortunately the moment it started crumbling in earnest, Sheik and Link had made their way back to the hole in the wall. The monsters hadn't _all_ been defeated, of course—Sheik and Link were never that lucky—but it had taken more than three-quarters of the remaining monsters out.

The moment Sheik was inside the secret passageway, she dropped into a sitting position; exhausted, sore, and bloody.

The monsters had stopped advancing for the moment—none even searching for Sheik and Link—and Sheik was grateful for the break. She supposed the few remaining Hylian generals were trying to estimate just how many of their monsters were left, and perhaps trying to make some kind of plan to retaliate.

All Sheik could think about was how tired she was—and how grateful she was that Link was here with her, and safe.

"Are you hurt too badly?" he whispered, kneeling in front of her. Despite the dim lighting, Sheik could see ash and blood and dirt on his face—and plenty of red stains on his tunic. Between all the blood he'd lost and the exhaustion in his face, Link looked almost as bad as Sheik felt.

"Does it really matter at this point?" Sheik pulled her mask down, allowing her to breathe freely. "We need as much red potion as we can stomach."

Link nodded and handed her a bottle. She waited till he'd pulled out one for himself before she was willing to drink anything—and even when she had, she was horribly aware that it still didn't feel like enough. Even if her injuries were healed, red potion did nothing for the exhaustion she felt, and the way her cold, damp suit was bringing down her temperature. Tossing that cloak aside had been a mistake, she realized. With all the adrenaline from the fighting, she'd hardly noticed how wet her suit had gotten from the storm. But now that they were inside such a cold, damp passageway, she was feeling it in earnest.

"We should just seal off the hole with rubble," Link mumbled. "I know that we wanted to bottleneck the monsters, but… I don't have much left in me, Sheik. I don't know how long we could keep it up."

Sheik closed her eyes, letting out a hum. The Triforce of Wisdom wasn't giving her any ideas, though, and she let out a sigh as she realized she'd have to figure it out herself. Fortunately it didn't seem too tough of a solution when she found one. "We can shove as much big rubble against the hole as we can," she said. "Then I'll freeze it shut. It'll buy us time, and we can just focus on moving through the tunnels."

Link nodded tiredly, forcing himself to get to his feet. "Whatever we do, we need to keep moving. Ashei and Shad… If they were as blindsided as we were, then they'll need help."

Despite Sheik's exhaustion, she knew Link was right. So she stood as well, ignoring how weak and shaky she felt. Between the two of them, they soon sealed up the hole, and Sheik froze it all together, just as planned. It definitely took more energy than she wanted to use, but so long as she gave herself some time to rest before she next used it, she'd be alright.

To Sheik's relief, Link wasn't walking too fast.

Still, no matter how fast or slow they walked, they had a long journey ahead of them. Sheik only hoped that Ashei and Shad were alright.

* * *

Though they certainly weren't _alone_ in any of the secret passageways, the passageways were mostly quiet.

Maybe it was because only a few monsters could fit in it at a time, due to their size. Maybe it was because Hylian guards wanted to stay out in the open. Maybe the monsters wanted to be anywhere that wasn't damp and wet and smelled like mold. Or maybe, _for once_ , Sheik and Link had just gotten lucky. Whatever the reason, she was grateful that there weren't too many monsters waiting for them in the dark.

After they'd been walking (mostly) peacefully for about half an hour, Sheik had finally recovered some of her strength.

But like all good things in her life, this too came to a quick end.

Link stopped in front of her, looking puzzled and confused at best—and upset at worst. Sheik stopped as well, grateful for the break, but found she couldn't relax when her partner looked so distraught.

"The staircase to the basement was supposed to be here," Link said, looking intently at the empty space before him. "I don't see it anywhere."

Sheik closed her eyes, hoping against hope that there was a simple explanation. She didn't have the energy for setbacks; they couldn't just look over the entire compound for the girls. They needed to find them, and find them quickly. "Maybe we got turned around," Sheik said, praying her voice didn't sound as tired as she felt. "Are you sure you're not reading the map wrong?"

Link showed her the map, pointing to the symbol for 'staircase.' "It's supposed to be here."

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line. Her mind immediately started trying to backtrack and find another way down, but even as she was thinking of possible solutions, she quickly felt something tell her to stop. There was little—if any—warmth on her hand, but she decided she couldn't be too careful, and she quickly crossed her arms to conceal the back of her left hand. Considering how dark it was in the tunnel, her hand might let off light even with bandages, so she couldn't be too careful.

"Sheik?" Link asked, looking up at her. "…Any ideas?"

"Give me a minute to think," she said. "I have a feeling there's more to this than we're thinking…"

As she thought about it, she slowly remembered how tightly concealed many of the secret rooms were. Some required hidden knobs to be pressed, some required a wall to be opened like a door, some required books to be moved from their places. Passageways were greatly concealed, and Sheik realized with a start that the staircase must have been concealed.

"Knock on the walls," she said. "Listen for something that sounds hollow. That's the side the staircase will be on."

Link blinked at her. "Shad's notes said nothing about the staircase being hidden."

"He was also under the impression that most of these tunnels were a complete secret from the monsters," she said. "I'm willing to bet that he was mistaken about an awful lot of things. Besides," she continued, knocking lightly on a few panels of wall. "If he was sure they were hiding a secret bathroom, then why wouldn't they hide a stairway, too?"

"…Fair enough." Link soon busied himself with knocking on the walls as well, though softly, so as not to draw attention from the inhabitants of any nearby tunnels.

Soon, Link's knuckles rapped against something that gave off a hollow sound, and he waved Sheik over to him. Sheik knocked around it, soon finding the borders and edges.

As she was determining the bottom-most part of the hollow zone, her hand brushed against a stone that jutted out further than the rest. Suspicious, she felt underneath the rock, and soon she found grooves to put her fingertips in. Though she wasn't entirely sure if it would work, she decided to go with a hunch, and tried to lift the stone.

The entire panel raised when she tried to lift the stone, and before long, there was a hole in the wall just large enough for Sheik and Link to fit through, one at a time.

The footsteps of monsters startled her, though, and she gestured for Link to crawl through first. Once he was safely inside, Sheik followed, and closed the panel.

They waited just inside the staircase for a moment, hardly daring to breathe. But the monsters seemed completely unaware of the secret panel, and soon their footsteps passed their hiding place.

It took a moment to regain her bearings, but once she did, Sheik stood, mindful of the low ceiling. The staircase was tiny, small enough for a child to fit comfortably inside, but not much else. It wouldn't make for a very good escape route, either, and she hoped against hope that they wouldn't have to lead any of the kidnapped girls through it. If all went well, they wouldn't have to, but… still, with how difficult everything had been so far, she couldn't rule it out.

But after surviving so much hardship already, Sheik didn't want her last moments to be spent fighting for her life from inside a too-small staircase.

As they descended the staircase, Link walked ahead of her, keeping his place slow and careful. Sheik appreciated it, especially since they didn't really know what they were up against.

After a while, though, Link suddenly pitched forward, one leg hitting nothing but air. He nearly fell forward, but Sheik caught him before he went too far. Even though she'd caught him, though, Sheik had a hard time reassuring herself that he was safe. She kept her arms around him for far longer than necessary, her heart pounding against her partner's back.

"It's okay," Link finally said. "I—I think it's just one missing step. Didn't see it in the dark."

"I'll go ahead of you," Sheik said. "I—I think it'll be easier that way."

Her logic didn't make much sense—after all, she could fall just as easily as he could. But before Link could protest, she carefully maneuvered in front of him, sitting down on the last step and stretching her leg forward to make sure there was definitely a step below it.

It seemed that the staircase had changed from stone to wood, and that it hadn't been used for years. Sheik hardly felt safe as she stepped down onto it, but she was sure—or, mostly sure—that it'd hold her weight.

"Keep most of your weight on the handrail," Sheik said, carefully moving to the next step before motioning for Link to join her. "The stairs aren't very strong."

As Sheik continued forward, Link stayed about a pace-and-a-half behind. That way, they wouldn't bump into each other or test their luck with the weaker stairs. It bothered Sheik, though, that she didn't know how deep the staircase descended. Shad's notes said that there were staircases that descended all the way to the basement—and possibly even to levels unknown—but Sheik had no clue if this staircase was one of them. It seemed too weak to descend much further than a floor or two… but then, this house was full of surprises.

After they'd traveled further down, though, Link suddenly came to a stop.

"The hallway that Shad and Ashei were supposed to leave banners in," he said. "It's supposed to be on the next floor down."

Sheik stilled as well, trying not to sound as panicked as she felt. "And how are we supposed to know when we've reached the next floor? We started at the ground floor, and it feels like we've climbed down at least two floors. I know Shad said that this might have more than one level below-ground, but… I didn't expect to be so far underground." As she tested the creaky wood below her feet, she added, "And I don't know about you, but I don't want to see if climbing up works as well as climbing down."

"Sheik…" Link finally took a step towards her, forcing Sheik down to the next step to accommodate him. "What if we're going on a suicide mission? What if they've already rescued the girls and are heading back?"

Though Link's concern had some valid points, Sheik had a strong suspicion that Ashei and Shad were having just as bad of a day as they were. She didn't need the Triforce of Wisdom to confirm it for her—and its lack of intervention made her pretty sure she was right. "If Shad's map was outdated," Sheik said, "Then the tunnels probably led them right into a trap. No matter what banner they laid out, I'm almost _positive_ that their plan failed. They're probably captured with the girls as we speak." As she continued onwards, picking up the pace just a hair, she couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation. "Besides," she said. "This whole plan was a suicide mission. For us, anyways."

Link was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, he almost sounded indignant. "Shad and Ashei wouldn't lead us to our deaths," he said. "They helped us. How can you talk about them like that?"

"We came here to help them, not the other way around." Sheik grimaced, remembering some of the drafts she'd read, where any 'extra warriors' were sent out as mere diversions. Perhaps that was still all they were. "And, in case you don't remember, Shad and Ashei didn't have a very solid plan on _our_ escape route."

"What do you mean? Their plan was to wait until everyone was out, and then seal the tunnels leading back to the mansion." Though Sheik couldn't see Link's face, she could practically hear his furrowed brow. " _Everyone_ includes us."

"Doubtful." Sheik continued forward, but stopped short when the handrail suddenly disappeared. Testing the darkness below, she stepped out, and found that her foot had met something solid. "…I think we reached the end of the staircase. Watch your step."

After Sheik stepped down, Link followed, hopping down onto the sturdy ground below.

Because they still didn't know what floor they were in—or even where this room let out—Sheik kept her katana close.

As they explored the room, Sheik kept close to the walls, knocking to find any hollow spaces. Hopefully the way out would be similar to the way in, but she didn't expect to get that lucky again. When did she and Link ever get lucky when the Goddesses themselves weren't directly involved?

After what felt like ages, she finally heard a hollow sound behind the door.

She called Link over, and the two of them felt for oddly shaped stones, just as they had in order to get inside the staircase. They worked for a while before, finally, Sheik found a stone with grooves on the bottom. Assuming that it opened up, just like the first one, she pulled. Sheik held her breath, bracing for monsters awaiting them on the other side.

Once it was open, she and Link hopped out just as quick as they could, ready for anything.

* * *

There were no monsters in the basement.

Or, at least, there were no monsters waiting for them when they came out of the stairway. But Sheik could feel a strong magical presence not far from where they were. Between that feeling and the distant sounds of fighting, Sheik could only assume that Shad and Ashei were under attack.

…Considering Shad wasn't good at fighting, Ashei was probably on her own. Sheik didn't want to think about her chances of survival if she continued fighting on their own for much longer.

"Hurry," she said. "Something's going on further down."

Even without a knowledge of magical energy, Link seemed to understand what she meant. So he followed the sound of the fighting, with Sheik only a few steps ahead of him.

The hallways were deserted, leaving Sheik to believe that every guard and monster must have gone to the location of the fight. On one hand, it was good, because Sheik and Link wouldn't have to face any monsters on the way. But, on the other hand, it meant that the fight would be all the bigger.

As they finally came upon the scene, Sheik found it impossible to see over the throes of monsters and guards. It seemed Link was having the same dilemma—if not worse, considering his lesser height. Instead of barging into the room, though, Sheik suddenly pulled Link back and hid behind a wall.

Because no guards were roaming the halls, no one would notice two eavesdroppers—and like this, it was less likely that someone would turn around and find two intruders just outside the main doors. It was chaos in there, after all; swarms of monsters and Hylian guards filled the room to its maximum capacity and beyond. Despite the cool of the basement (and goddesses, Sheik had almost forgotten what it was like to be warm, she'd been in the compound so long), the room exuded heat. Had it not smelled like blood and sweat, she might have appreciated it.

Worse, she could scarcely tell what it looked like. Aside from the simple wooden structure, she had nothing she could make a plan with. She couldn't see inside and check for any staircases, or anything she could use to defend herself—she couldn't even find a safe exit route. Without even a scrap of a plan, Sheik knew their odds of survival were limited. But it wasn't as if she could come up with a plan while fighting, either. It

If she could only hear Shad and Ashei's location (if they were still alive), and the girls', it would be easier. She could come up with something, some way to get them through the door and into the tunnels—some way to save them.

There was a chance it still wouldn't be enough. But if she knew their location, she could at least try.

Amid the chaos, Sheik finally, _finally_ , made out Ashei's voice. It was mixed faintly with others—the girls? Shad's?—but she couldn't hear anything distinctly, save for Ashei's cries of pain. It seemed that Link was hearing the same, because his face pulled into a frown.

"We need to get in there," Link said. "I can't even make out real words, just…" He hung his head, listening to Ashei's cries of exertion. "I don't like their odds against this many monsters."

"I don't like ours, either." Sheik pressed her lips into a tight frown, already trying to strategize. From what she could tell, Ashei's voice was coming from further up. That meant they had the high ground, which probably explained how they were still alive—but the monsters must have stopped them from advancing any further. Though she still couldn't tell just how many monsters were here, she knew it was comparable to how many were in that first room… and probably more. Their odds weren't good, and whatever chance they had at surviving this meant someone had to make a sacrifice.

All the monsters were inside this room, intending to overwhelm Ashei, Shad, and the girls. If by some miracle they managed to escape, the monsters would follow. Unless, of course, someone stayed behind to protect them, and managed to stall the monsters long enough for them to make their escape and seal the exit behind them. Past that, whoever stayed behind would have to find a way to kill the monsters in one fell swoop to make sure they never found the girls again.

Sheik knew neither she nor Link had the strength to win in a fair fight. The only way they could kill this many monsters all at once was if they buried them alive, or…

Sheik bit her lip, the beginnings of a plan forming in her head.

It wouldn't be pretty, but with any luck, it would work. She couldn't guarantee her own survival, or Link's, but…

"We're going to get everyone out," Sheik said, a steely determination settling onto her. "I don't know how well it'll work, but… I think I have an idea."

* * *

When they entered the main room, Sheik had been expecting the monsters to be at least a little surprised. But if anything, it seemed they'd been expecting Sheik and Link's arrival. Granted, none of the monsters or guards looked _happy_ to see them, but they barely looked up. Sheik felt her stomach sink; they didn't even have the element of surprise this time.

Sheik squinted at a particularly gutsy Hylian guard, and realized all too late that she recognized him.

It had been a mistake not to take out the remaining guards. They must have regrouped and come down here to add security to the girls. Sheik mentally swore, but she knew there was nothing that could be done about it now.

All it meant was that she'd have to be more careful. They knew that Link and Sheik had a few tricks up their sleeve, and that they weren't afraid to cause some serious damage in order to succeed in their mission. Sheik knew all too well that the girls were, if anything, in _more_ danger now that Sheik and Link had arrived. The monsters and guards had what Sheik and Link wanted—and, unlike the partners, the monsters didn't care if the girls got hurt.

Still, despite the monsters' lack of surprise, Sheik knew they had to act fast. So they cut through as many monsters as they could, taking advantage of anyone whose back was turned. It was a dirty tactic, and one that Sheik might have hesitated on if she wasn't sure it was saving her life. But for now, she was willing to do anything if it meant she—and Link, and Ashei, and Shad, and the girls—lived.

Once they were further inside the room, Sheik searched for Shad and Ashei and the girls. It was difficult to see even now that they were inside, especially since she had to keep her eyes on the fights going on around her.

But finally she heard Link's voice above the noise, just a few feet away from her.

"Sheik!" he cried. "Look up!"

Sheik did, and finally spotted a small group on the stairway. It seemed to be mostly young women, though the age range was wider than Sheik had seen before. There was also a greater diversity in the races and appearance of those captured. She spotted several that looked like they had Gerudo blood in them—and several half-or-quarter Sheikahs.

In front of them was Shad, who seemed to be in a panic—and attempting to wrap up an injury on his torso. But in front of the both of them was Ashei.

They'd wedged themselves into something of a bottleneck, similar to what Link and Sheik had tried to do earlier. Except Ashei and Shad's strategy seemed to be working—for now. It allowed Ashei to only take on a few monsters at a time, which meant that she could keep everyone safe and no one else would get hurt.

However, though it was keeping the girls and Shad safe, it was obvious that Ashei was wearing down.

Sheik was glad she and Link had arrived when they did; Ashei looked like she was in pretty bad shape.

"Ashei!" she called. When Ashei looked up at her, there was palpable relief on her face, though she didn't slow down her defensive maneuvers. Sheik rushed up towards her, signaling for Link to follow.

It took a few minutes, but finally Sheik managed to get to the top of the staircase. She took Ashei's place in an instant, allowing the exhausted girl to rest beside Shad.

"How did you know to find us here?"

"The maps were wrong about everything except the secret tunnels," Sheik said, "But we figured everyone would still be in the basement. Followed the sound of fighting and it lead us straight to you."

Ashei sank to the ground, clearly trying to catch her breath and recover. Sheik couldn't spare too much time to examine her, but even from a brief glance, she could see that Ashei was hurt pretty badly. Fortunately Shad was willing to help her, and soon was wrapping her injuries as much as he could with his limited supplies. "Yeah? How're you and Link? Heard an explosion earlier—was that you?"

"Brought down the second story onto some monsters. Front room woulda been a suicide mission otherwise." The monsters seemed to be coming in a never-ending stream towards the bottle-neck. Sheik wished she still had her daggers, if just to give her a few minutes to rest—but her katana would have to do. "And if we're gonna make it out of this one, we'll need to think creatively."

Ashei squinted up at her, a head-injury dripping blood into her eye before Shad started to dab it away. "Creatively, how?"

"Link and I have a plan," she said. "But you guys need to get back to the tunnel that leads out of the compound."

"What do you think we've been trying to do?" Ashei said. "But in case you didn't notice, there's a wall of monsters blocking us."

Sheik started to reply then stopped short, noticing the next monster to approach. Goddesses, it was at least four times her size—how had she not noticed it inside before?

But there was nothing she could do besides fight it…

Except maybe use its size against it.

"Shad, Ashei," she said, giving them just a moment of forewarning. "When I disarm it, push."

Shad, who had been silently working on Ashei until that point, reeled. "Excuse me, but I don't believe we're in any condition to be—"

"If this thing gets up here, no one will be in any condition to do anything. I'll be doing all the hard work, so all you have to do is push him, alright?"

That said, Sheik trusted them to follow instructions, and finally engaged with the beast once it came at her. It would be a brutal fight, she knew, especially since her goal was to disarm this monster—not to kill it. So instead of aiming to strike through its torso, Sheik aimed for its arms.

However, because she was aiming for smaller, faster-moving targets, the monster was bound to land a few hits on her before she could kill it.

Before Sheik had time to dodge, it clubbed her in the middle, and she was thrown against the back wall from the impact. She didn't have time to stay down, though, and used the wall as a spring-board. Knowing she'd only have one shot at this, she jumped forward, then cleanly sliced her blade through its dominant arm.

While it was still reeling from pain, Sheik shouted, "Now!"

She started pushing in earnest, but it wasn't until she felt others near her pushing that there was any real difference.

The giant fell backwards, rolling down the stairs and hitting countless other guards and monsters on the way down. Because of its size, it either killed or knocked out many of the guards it hit, and vanished the monsters into black dust.

Though it wouldn't stop the stream of monsters from coming up the stairs, it had taken out many of them, and given them a few moments to talk amongst each other.

"So, the plan," Sheik said, hugging one arm around her middle. Her ribs ached, and she was pretty sure she'd cracked some of them, but there simply wasn't time to focus on them. "Link's down there fighting on his own, and I'm going to get back down there with him—along with all of you. He has red potion with him if you need it. We'll clear a path as much as we can, but it won't hold for long. The basement is almost completely empty, so once you're out, nothing should be in your way. You're home free once you make it out—but you need to run as fast as you possibly can. Link and I will keep the monsters from following you."

Though Shad looked outright panicked, Ashei seemed to be keeping a clear head. "And then?"

"Same plan as always," she said. "Seal the tunnel behind you."

Ashei furrowed her brows. "But what about you and Link? What if you get cap—"

"We will find another way back, or we'll die trying," she snapped, cutting her off. "Believe me, whatever happens, we _won't_ get captured. But you have to make sure the tunnel is completely sealed. Do you understand me?"

Ashei glanced between Sheik and the girls huddled further up on the staircase. "…Okay."

"Then leave it to us." The monsters were approaching now, but Sheik advanced towards them, pushing backwards. Already, she was clearing a path, but once she reached the bottom of the staircase, she waited. Link was crossing the room towards her, and soon he took her place at the front of the stairs. Sheik went back up to the top, at the very end of the procession, and urged everyone into formation.

There were more girls than she'd anticipated—with some having been behind the staircase's corner—but she'd just have to make it work.

If it meant exerting herself until there was nothing left in her, so be it.

As Link led the group towards the door, Sheik stayed at the tail end. She kept the back clear of opposition, and helped to protect the sides, though Ashei and Shad were doing their best. Though daggers of ice were fairly easy to make, Sheik was running low on energy as it was, and she knew she could only continue for so long.

But she wasn't going to let any of the girls get hurt. Not on her watch.

The fight to the exit was long, and bloody, and Sheik had lost count of how many times she'd been struck in the back while she was facing forward and protecting the sides.

At the very least, she was losing enough blood and sweat that she could simply freeze them and use them as daggers instead of forming them from nothing. Because of how Sheikah magic was so related to blood-lines and energy, she supposed it made sense. Besides—at least this way her body could do something useful. If she couldn't wrap her injuries or cool down, she might as well use it to stay alive for as long as she could.

It didn't matter if she was quickly running out of energy. She knew she wouldn't make it outside, anyways.

As the group continued forward, the resistance seemed to increase more and more. Some of the girls on the outskirts got cut up and bruised, not to mention Ashei and Shad. Shad had managed to slip some red potion out of Link's satchel, but no one could stop to drink it until they were safe.

Towards the end, it looked—just for a moment—like they wouldn't be able to make it out. Monsters were closing in, forming a barricade towards the door. But Link— _damn him_ —had given up all pretense of fighting defensively. In a recklessness she hadn't seen from him in ages, he rammed his shield into a guard's sternum, then threw it behind him, for one of the girls to catch. Sheik could only watch and continue giving cover from behind, but she felt her blood run cold as Link continued to fight without a shield.

He was faster like this, and he took out more guards and monsters in half the time he had been—and for that, Sheik was grateful. But without his shield, and without any defensive maneuvers to speak of, he was leaving himself completely open for attack. And the monsters took advantage of it. He was struck several times—each time drawing blood—and Sheik was powerless to help when his voice joined the chorus of monsters' screams.

But even so, he took out the last monsters between himself and the door, till finally the way was clear.

Shad quickly opened the doors, seeing that Link was too injured to do much else. Not wasting even a moment, Ashei and the girls bolted through the doors, narrowly missing the monsters' last attacks. Though some of the girls certainly looked roughed up—particularly the older ones, who'd stuck around the outskirts and left the younger ones inside—fortunately most had escaped without too much injury.

Sheik wished she could say the same for herself. More than that, she wished she could say the same for Link.

Her partner was leaning against the wall, only moments away from another fight. Because she'd been at the tail end of the procession, the more girls that ran through the doors, the closer she got to Link. But even as she grew closer, she was scared to realize she might not make it in time. Considering his injuries, and how exhausted he was, Sheik didn't know if he'd survive his next altercation. But Link was stubborn, and he forced himself back to his feet once the monster was close enough to do any real damage.

By then, almost everyone was out. Only a few remained, and Sheik was quick to shove them through the wooden doors.

Link looked gratefully at her, holding off the monster as Sheik started to close the doors.

"Go!" she shouted, voice hoarse. Once she was sure they were running, she added, with the last of her strength, "Hurry! Make sure to seal the exit behind you!" She raised her voice, till it was nearly unintelligible, knowing full well that these might be her last words to them. "And no matter what you do, _keep running_!"

With that, she slammed the doors shut, and with the last of her magic, froze it shut.

There was absolutely no energy left in her, and it was only by a miracle that she was still standing. Sheik felt a warmth from the Triforce of Wisdom, but she didn't have enough time to question it, or even thank it. The only thing she could do was keep standing, and keep fighting.

"How long?" Link managed, holding his side. Though they still didn't have a moment to themselves, Sheik was covering Link just long enough for her partner to get his bearings. He looked like he was in pretty bad shape, and Sheik wasn't sure how much longer he could stay with her. "H-How long do you think we have to stall before…?"

"A few minutes," Sheik said. A monster slammed a club against her side, and Sheik couldn't help but cry out. Though it wasn't nearly the size of the one that had hurt her earlier, it added to the damage already done to her ribs. Sheik wasn't surprised that when she coughed, she tasted blood. Still, when she took a look at Link, who had more red on him than she knew how to process, it was on his behalf that she asked, "How much red potion do you have?"

"About a bottle." He handed it to her, but Sheik shook her head. "Sheik. I'm the one who can heal—!"

"Just take it!"

"I'm not going to drink it when I can heal on my own!" Link staggered over to her, resting a bloody hand on her shoulder to help support himself. "If you keep going like this, you're going to _die_!"

"Better me than you!" Sheik didn't care about the stricken expression on Link's face, instead just adjusting her position to take out the next monster that threw itself her way. "I've lost everyone, Link! I'm not going to lose you, too!"

Her order had Link reeling, and she watched as panic blossomed across his face. "Sheik—you're not making sense," he said quickly. His face was almost white, and if not for how hyper-alert he still was from battle, she might have thought he'd gone into shock. "I don't— _this isn't you,_ Sheik _, this isn't you!_ " Realizing that his panic wasn't helping him get his message across, he tried to force the bottle into her hand again. "Just—take it, Sheik, you have to take it, you aren't yourself right now!"

"I'm not going to change my mind," Sheik snapped. "I'd rather die than see you die on my account. So drink the damn potion and get out of here already, before it's too late for _either_ of us to make it out of here!"

Sheik felt herself running out of strength, and she knew she was reaching her physical limit. She could hardly feel her limbs anymore, and the world was growing darker and darker around her. She wasn't sure if she had enough strength to stand, much less continue fighting, but she stubbornly leaned against the wall to keep herself upright.

She'd need to stay awake for a bit longer if she was going to see her plan through till the end.

"Drink the potion, Link, and get out of here," she said. Already, she was all too aware that she was starting to fade. "It won't give me the energy to get out of here, anyways. I'm… I'm dead no matter what, now. It'd be a waste of potion."

There was outright panic on Link's face now, and Sheik realized she couldn't actually hear what he was saying. His lips were moving, but everything was dull, and faded. It almost sounded like she was underwater.

Sheik forced a smile, then removed her mask so she could breathe easier, bracing herself for the next monster. "Light the match, and then get out of here. They probably want revenge, so I… I could keep them occupied for a couple minutes. Plenty of time for you to get a headstart. Now _go_!"

But while she was distracted with talking—and goddesses, it seemed to take all the energy she had left—a monster approached her, and got one last hit in. Sheik crumpled to her knees, and the world became very dark, very quickly.

The last thing she was aware of was a match being struck, distant fire, and the feeling of arms around her.

* * *

" _Impa?" Zelda asked, still dressed in hand-me-down training clothes. Though it was time for lessons, Zelda wanted to keep practicing magic with Impa. It was such a pretty day—why did she have to go inside? "Why do I have to know so much about all the other Zeldas?"_

 _Impa gave a soft sigh. "Because, little one. You'll need to know all of this one day."_

" _But why? I'm not allowed at the castle anymore! And no one would want me as their queen, anyways." She almost looked surly for a moment, before adding, "Anyways, I'd rather be a Sheikah royal guard, just like you were!" Zelda pouted, big blue eyes asking for what she really wanted: to go back outside. "If I have to study something, why can't it be stuff for that?"_

" _Oh, Zelda…" Impa sighed, reaching forward and tousling the girl's curls. "It's far too dangerous to be a Sheikah royal guard. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt."_

 _Zelda furrowed her brows. "But… But, I can do Sheikah magic!"_

"Most _Sheikah magic," Impa corrected. "You have a lot to learn, little one. Besides," she said, taking on her teaching tone once more. "What do you have against being a queen someday, hm?"_

" _I have other things I wanna do."_

 _Impa looked at her, perplexed. "…And what would those things be?"_

" _I want to see the world," Zelda said. "And I wanna actually_ help _people." Before Impa could cut her off with a lecture on the royal duties of princesses, Zelda continued, "And I don't mean just passing laws to help people. I—I wanna do things for them in person. Like the heroes from all the stories!"_

" _Zelda," Impa said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sweet one… It's a very noble aim, and I'm proud of you for wanting to help your people, but…"_

" _I don't care if it's not tradition, Impa!" Zelda wouldn't allow herself to be shut down this time. Instead, she kept speaking, will all the stubbornness she'd been holding back for so long out of respect for her aging guardian. "You won't tell me the story of the Hero of Time anymore, but I don't care. Sheik is still my favorite, and you can't change my mind. If I hafta be a princess, then I want to be one who actually_ does _stuff. I don't just wanna get captured and make speeches!"_

 _This time, Impa's voice was a bit sharper. "Zelda," she said, lips pressing into a thin line. "That is_ enough _. You have a destiny. Your name is your birthright, and you can't just ignore it!"_

" _Maybe I don't want that birthright!" Zelda looked defiantly up at her guardian, squaring her shoulders. "And—And maybe I want a different destiny!"_

 _Impa looked at her for a very long time, until finally her stern expression faded away. "Oh, Zelda," she sighed, pulling her into a hug. "I know you don't understand," she said, "But someday, you will. I just want you to be safe, sweet one."_

 _Even as Impa said it, Zelda felt a strange assurance come over her. "I don't care if I'm safe, Impa," she said. "I just want to do the right thing."_

* * *

"Sheik?"

Sheik couldn't open her eyes. Where she was, she hadn't the faintest clue, but her entire body ached, and she was dimly aware that she was being carried.

"Sheik—goddesses, please open your eyes." She felt Link lift her left hand, sliding up her sleeve and reaching for a pulse-point. After a moment, he adjusted his hold, until his hand clasped around her left hand, holding onto it for dear life. "I can't—I barely felt a heartbeat, Sheik, and I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you can, please, please do _something_ to show me you're still with me."

Though she had no control over it, Sheik felt something within her trying to make itself known. Before she could say a word—or even muster up the strength for it—she felt a sudden surge of heat coming from her left hand. She didn't know if it was Link's Triforce or her own—but she knew that whatever it was, it was good.

Link stilled, and Sheik could feel him gently press his lips to her knuckles.

"I'm not letting you die."

* * *

 _If Sheik was being honest with herself, she didn't know why she'd allowed herself to fall to such a low. She'd stolen once—_ once _—when she was younger and no one in town had been willing to give her food. Her heart had been pounding the entire time, and she'd felt guilty long after she'd eaten the bread she stole._

 _And yet, now?_

 _Now she had successfully completed her biggest heist yet. The Lanayru noble had nearly caught her—and she might have, if not for Sheik silencing the area around her hiding place. But she'd made it out in time, with enough jewels and pearls and rupees to last her for weeks._

 _She wasn't proud of herself, not exactly. She was proud that she'd been able to do it, and to some extent, she was proud that this rude, spiteful woman would be knocked down a peg after realizing someone had stolen from her. But she didn't feel proud of the actual theft._

 _Impa had taught her to be better than this._

 _But what choice did she have? She was fourteen and cold and hungry, and the world still wanted to find her. Most people had given up hope, but every now and then, she still heard soldiers talk about 'poor missing Princess Zelda.'_

 _She couldn't go back to the Castle—she wouldn't. Not when her father had pawned her off to Impa and never bothered to visit. Not when she had siblings who were the darlings of Castle Town. Not when her step-mother was queen, rather than Sheik's mother—whoever that was._

 _As Sheik approached the first pawn-store of many she'd be visiting today (so as not to draw suspicion), she forced down the memories._

 _It didn't matter what Impa had raised her to be. Impa was dead. It didn't matter what her royal lineage wanted her to be, either. She was Sheik, now. Not Zelda. And now that she wasn't Zelda, it didn't matter what she wanted in life._

 _She was just a petty thief trying to make ends meet. It didn't matter who or what she wanted to be._

* * *

When Sheik awoke, she was only aware of the cold.

Strong wind blew in front of her, and she felt something warm and solid behind her. She was being carried, she thought, though she couldn't be sure.

"Sheik?" she heard. And was that Link's voice? In the wind, it was hard to tell, but… Whoever it belonged to, she trusted implicitly. She settled against him, trying in vain to find protection from the wind. "Oh, goddesses, you're alive. Are you—right, you won't respond. You're conscious, though?"

Sheik did nothing to answer his question. She merely tucked closer to him, breath hitching when it aggravated her injuries.

"Stay still," Link urged. "Stay still, you—you've gotta be okay. We're on our way back to the mansion. We'll get help once we're there, I promise. I—I couldn't heal you. I'm so sorry, Sheik. This is—I shouldn't have… This is my fault. This is all my fault." His voice sounded thick for a moment, and Sheik realized he might be crying. "I'm gonna fix it—fix _you_ , I swear. I—I can carry you the rest of the way, get you somewhere safe. Whatever Sheikah magic you have, it's—I think it's trying to keep you alive. Just keep doing whatever you're doing, okay, Sheik? Sheik? Can you still hear me?"

Sheik let out a long, slow breath, dimly aware that she was fading again. Link wasn't making sense, talking about Sheikah magic 'trying to keep her alive.' Didn't he know that it required energy to use Sheikah magic? She couldn't use it if she was unconscious. And, besides that, what did he mean, it was his fault? Sheik had had every intention of dying back there. If Link was getting her to safety, then it was because of _him_ that she was still alive. But something told her not to mention it—not that her voice worked, anyways. That same something told her to keep her left hand concealed, too, and Sheik did her best to comply. She didn't remember why her left hand was so important, but she heeded the advice, and slowly moved her hand till it was crossed over her chest and hidden by her right arm.

The movement seemed to sap the rest of her energy, and Sheik felt herself slipping away. Ignoring Link's pleas for her to stay awake, Sheik had little choice in the matter, and soon found his voice fading away once more.

* * *

 _She was eighteen, and she couldn't remember the last time she had said a word aloud. After nearly getting caught one too many times, Sheik had stayed away from cities for the most part, only venturing into them when she was running low on supplies. Even then, though, she stayed silent, taking what she needed and paying without a word._

 _Once, she'd entertained the idea of reintegrating with society and making a life for herself. She'd thought of giving up her Sheikah ensemble—her last tie to Impa—and settling down somewhere._

 _But she was a wanted woman, now. She'd spent years as a thief, and if she was ever recognized by someone she'd stolen from, then she would doubtlessly be caught. It was much more difficult to move after settling than staying on the run, and as tiresome as nomadic life could be, she was sure life in prison would be much worse._

 _Besides…_

 _Deep in her heart, she knew she would never be content in one place._

 _But Sheik had the sky above her, and the ground beneath her feet. She had her Sheikah ensemble, and a world out there to explore. Even if she could only do it alone, she was still grateful for the opportunity. How many Zeldas before her had been confined to a castle? How many had been locked away and never seen the light of day till a hero rescued them? How many had dedicated their lives to passing laws but never gave a damn about the individual lives of their citizens? How many lifetimes had she spent inside a gilded cage?_

 _No, Sheik decided. The life she'd chosen wasn't easy—but she knew it was better to be alone if it meant she wasn't trapped._

 _She was Sheik, and she was free._

* * *

When she next woke, she was warm.

That, above everything else, was what came to mind first. After being so cold for so long—because, Goddesses above, it had been _cold_ in the compound—Sheik had almost forgotten what being warm was like.

But after she realized she was warm, the pain soon followed. She barely had the energy to sit up, but when she finally did, her body exploded into pain. She could barely get a center on what hurt the most; everything fed off of each other and added to her head-to-toe ache.

Sheik squeezed her eyes shut, barely remembering to check if her eyes were red, or blue. Unsurprisingly, they had turned blue, and she forced herself to reapply a glamour. She hoped against hope that no one had seen her with blue eyes, but there wasn't much she could do if they had.

More than anything though, Sheik just wanted to pass out again. Even if she'd been forced through reliving unwanted memories and dreams, she hadn't been so acutely aware of pain while she was out. Not to mention there was a chance she'd dream of Impa again…

"Do you need help lying back down?"

Sheik jerked her head in the direction of the voice—only adding to her pain—but found that it was only Link. Though she attempted to open her mouth and speak to him, the only noise that came out was a hoarse croak.

Sheik tried to look at him, but he was blurry and unfocused from so far away, and she squinted at him to make him appear clearer. The only thing she could see for sure was that Link was visibly exhausted, with a posture to match. But nevertheless, he soon approached the bed she was lying on. Despite seeing his slumped position from so far away, she still didn't expect him to look so bad once he came closer.

"You scared me half to _death_ ," he said, and Sheik, with one look at his face, believed him. His eyes were red-rimmed and his cheeks still had tear-stains; even without them though, he looked haggard. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but from the looks of it, it might have been days, and he looked like he hadn't eaten anything all the while—or bathed, for that matter. " _Promise me_ you'll never do that again, Sheik. You could have _died_."

Sheik attempted to speak again. It hurt her throat to even try, but she couldn't just ignore him when he was trying to talk to her. Link didn't deserve to be ignored, for one—and, perhaps more to the point, Sheik didn't want to hear any lectures no matter how upset he sounded. So she took a breath of air, hating how rough and dry her voice was when she finally managed a syllable. "Can't."

She had never seen Link look so hurt before—or so worried. "You _can't_?" he asked, and despite his attempt at stoicism, his eyes betrayed him. "Or… or you won't?"

Sheik raised one hand to massage her throat, ignoring the shooting pain that went up her elbow. "Can't," she repeated. "…Both, maybe." Though she had attempted not to sound too harsh, Link looked down, unable to meet her gaze any longer. In the silence that followed, Sheik tried—however slowly—to remember the details of those last moments before she'd passed out. Much of it was hazy, though, so she forced herself to ask, "Did it …burn?"

Link nodded his head, though wouldn't look back up at her. "Storm put up a fight, and some of the Hylians might have gotten out, if they were clever. But… yes."

Sheik nodded slowly, processing the information as best as she could. Remembering the point of the mission, though, she soon asked, "…Girls?"

"They're… they're fine," he said. "Same with Shad and Ashei. Everyone made it safely back."

Link seemed to be calming, now, which Sheik greatly appreciated. However, as she remembered the last moments before she'd blacked out, she couldn't help but furrow her brows in confusion. "…Potion," she said, rubbing her sore throat before she could continue. Though she saw a flash of hurt in Link's eyes, she pressed on nonetheless. Before she could relax, before she could do anything, she had to ask if he'd actually honored her attempt at a sacrifice. "Did you drink it?"

Link was quiet for a while. Sheik didn't think she could identify every emotion flitting across his face, but she knew there was anger there. Anger, upset, worry, fear… and, more than anything, hurt.

"You didn't leave me much of a choice," he finally said, and he didn't sound happy about it. But at least he didn't sound as upset as he had when she first awoke. "You couldn't drink it if you were passed out, and… if I was going to carry you, I couldn't… I couldn't be too injured to move."

Sheik felt herself relax. "Good," she sighed, content. "Glad you did." Now that she'd spoken a bit, her throat didn't protest so sharply at every syllable, and she finally allowed her hand to drop back onto the bed. She closed her eyes, leaning back against the soft pillows propped behind her, already exhausted again. "Everything worked out, then," she said. "…When do we leave for Kakariko?"

"I don't think you're in any position to get back on the move."

Sheik's lips pulled into a frown. "I walked from the warehouse back to Marr with a _stab wound_ , Link," she said. "Riding a horse will be nothing. So long as I have some red potion, I can heal on the way."

"Sheik…" Link bit his lip, finally sitting down on the edge of her bed. "I… I don't think you realize just how seriously you were hurt."

Sheik tried to shrug, but no matter how she ignored the stabbing pain in her shoulders, her movement was hindered. "I'm still alive," she said. "That's more than I expected."

Link's eyes, if anything, turned more hurt—and yet, there was … _guilt_ mixed in. "It shouldn't be," he said. "You should never have gotten so hurt in the first place. I should have been the one to stay behind."

"No." Sheik took a deep breath, then finally gestured for him to lean closer. Though Link hesitated at first, he finally leaned closer, till finally Sheik could take hold of his hand. "It was my choice to stay behind, Link. I fully expected to die. I made peace with that. So long as you and all the girls made it out okay, I was happy with my choice."

"But I can _revive_ ," Link said. "That's what you don't get, Sheik. I—if I die, it's probably not permanent. But, if you die… There's no coming back."

"You don't know everything about your Triforce, Link," she said, letting out a long sigh. "It… I don't know why, but—I… I get a bad feeling if I ever think about leaving you to fend for yourself. I can't even consider it." At the growing panic in Link's eyes, Sheik tried to clarify. "I know you want me to trust your power, Link, but… I…"

Link gave her hand a squeeze. There was something strange in his voice when he asked, slow and uncertain, "Why can't you trust it?"

"Because I…" She bit her lip. "I… I just…"

At her hesitation, Link's face fell. He gave her a while to finish speaking, but when it became clear that she had nothing to say, he slowly, and without looking her in the eye, asked, "Is it because you don't trust _me_?"

"I didn't say that." Link probably didn't believe her, but Sheik didn't know what else to say. Not wanting to betray her feelings—her worries, her doubts, her fear of losing the only constant in her life after years of being alone—she quickly backpedaled. "It's—I just… You've barely explained anything about your Triforce, Link. How am I supposed to trust something I know nothing about?"

Link gave her a long look, as if searching for something. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find, and finally he sighed. He let go of her hand, then, gently setting it back on her lap. While she was still confused about the sudden break of contact, he stood up, turning away from her and taking a deep breath. "I trust you," he finally said. "I had thought… that after this long, you'd—that you'd trust me. But I… I guess I shouldn't have expected you to trust me about… this. I… I can't really blame you. I… I should never have put you in danger."

Sheik sat up, attempting to follow him, but to no avail. Her legs wouldn't move more than a few inches, no matter how she strained. "Link," she said, hating the guilty tone to his voice. "It's—whatever you're talking about, it's not your fault. I was the one that stayed behind, Link. You saved my life."

"What good does that do you if I was the one who put it in danger in the first place?" Link finally turned towards her, and Sheik was surprised to find fresh tears in his eyes. "I thought—you… You don't tell me anything, so I thought… I thought maybe it would be okay if I didn't, either, but I…"

"Link…" Sheik furrowed her brows. "I don't know what you're trying to say."

Link wiped his eyes, ignoring her confusion. "I didn't think that it would matter," he said, and Sheik could hear the frustration rising in his voice, "I didn't think it would—I didn't think it'd be this strong. I didn't realize that you could have gotten hurt."

Sheik was more confused than ever. "Link," she said. "Whatever you're trying to apologize for, it's okay."

"It isn't." Link shook his head. "But I—I can't tell you. Not here. Not when someone might overhear. It's—I… I know it's selfish, but it has to wait until we're on the road. I understand if you don't want to travel with me after this, but… I… I'm so sorry."

Sheik narrowed her eyes. Though she still couldn't figure out what he was going on about, she knew that he wouldn't be apologizing so ardently if he didn't have a reason. Though Link was humble, he wasn't a masochist, or a martyr. "Then tell me when we head out for Kakariko," Sheik said, suspicious now. "If you aren't going to tell me now, then stop talking about it until you are."

"Right—I… sorry," he said quickly. "I should let you rest and—and let Shad tend to you. We can leave in a few days if that's what you want."

Sheik only felt more suspicious at Link's automatic agreement. It was rare that he agreed with her without even a second's hesitation—especially about something he'd previously been against. Something wasn't right, that much was obvious, and Sheik felt her defenses rising because of it. "But you _will_ tell me," she said. "Once we're on the road to Kakariko. Don't back out of it now that you've promised."

As Link got a good look at Sheik's expression, he lowered his head, no longer able to look her in the eye. Link hesitated on his words, and was only able to manage a soft tone when he managed to speak. "…I… I will, Sheik," he said. "I'm—I'm sorry. I… I'll follow through. I'll make things right. I promise."

As he ran a hand through his hair and looked at her with such a distressed expression, Sheik felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. Even though he wasn't in any immediate danger, she felt similar to how she'd felt when she first met him, and when he was injured at Oxon.

Sheik furrowed her brows.

For some reason, it felt out of place.

Link seemed to realize something amiss as well. He looked down sharply at his left hand, then looked away, turning on his heel. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm—I didn't mean… Just… —Goodnight."

As he walked out the door and closed it softly behind himself, Sheik found herself staring after him. Whatever had just happened—and goddesses only knew what that was—had been strange. But, for some reason, she had the feeling that it was important.

She didn't have the energy to dwell on it, though; not with her injuries the way they were. Though she still hadn't had red potion, it was energy and rest she needed more than anything, and she wouldn't be getting that out of a bottle. Now that Link wasn't present to keep her awake, Sheik found herself drifting off once more.

She prayed to Nayru that this time her dreams would just be dreams—no memories.

* * *

 **((…Let's see where this goes, shall we?**

 **As always, thank you all so much for your support! I'm glad so many of you like this fic, and I hope you continue to enjoy it as it pans out more and more. If you like this story, and even if you didn't, please review! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and any questions you have (though I'll refrain from giving spoilers.) As always, I hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for reading!))**


	25. Chapter 25

**((Before reading this, if you've forgotten significant plot points or a lot of details, I encourage you to go back and reread portions of this—maybe the whole thing, since for the life of me I can't remember when certain events happen by chapter number. I've checked the reviews and no one has accurately guessed the bombshell Link is going to drop, but I've put several warnings and precursors to his confession, so** _ **hopefully**_ **(fingers crossed) no one feels angry or blindsided in a bad way.**

 **If you don't have time to go back through and reread everything (goodness knows I've written too much for this fic already), then I recommend the early chapters and Link and Sheik's time in Tal, as well as a critical eye of what happened last chapter.**

 **Also, I swear I'll explain my absence at the bottom notes, but this pre-note is long enough as it is.**

 **So, happy reading, and enjoy the newest chapter!))**

* * *

Despite Sheik's best efforts, it took several days before she could walk again. While cuts and bruises healed quickly even without red potion, magic overuse and blood-loss was another matter entirely. And no matter how much red potion she took, Sheik's body was taking its sweet time to heal.

Still—four days had passed, and she was about to go stir-crazy for want of movement.

Unfortunately for Sheik, Link was very little (if any) help. Though he was happy to do anything she asked pertaining to her injuries, he actively avoided conversation. And, with his cryptic words the last time they'd really spoken, Sheik was starting to worry.

If Link was pulling back, and Sheik wasn't good at reaching out, then there was a real risk of their partnership falling apart.

Though she didn't want to partner with someone she couldn't trust, she _knew_ Link. He had proved himself time and time again, and no matter what he had done, Sheik knew in her heart that she would forgive him. Whatever secret he was keeping, Sheik was sure it wasn't _that_ bad. That it _couldn't_ be that bad.

…Could it?

Despite herself, she felt doubt start to set in.

Link might have been the first genuinely good person she'd ever met. If she had been wrong about him, if he was just as bad as she was, then there was truly no hope for the rest of Hyrule.

A lump rose in her throat any time she considered it.

Between the possibility of a personal betrayal and Link letting down all of Hyrule, Sheik wasn't sure which stung more. As much as she thought she knew him, she couldn't help but worry. Maybe it was an effect of her Triforce, maybe it was practicality from raising herself on the road. She couldn't help but be cautious. No matter how much she wanted him to be perfect, to be the shining pinnacle of good that her heart believed in, there was a chance she was wrong.

Whatever the case, Sheik prayed his secret wouldn't be their undoing.

Still, much as she hoped everything was alright, she had to come up with a contingency plan. Trusting as she tried to be, it would be impractical and stupid of her to trust him blindly, leaving herself no other options.

If Link had truly betrayed her—or if he knew too much—then she'd have to find some way to deal with it. Sheik would have to push him out of her life, cut him off, and get away from him forever—otherwise she knew she'd come back. No matter how much she cared about him, she _couldn't_ expose her secret.

She'd managed being alone most of her life, and, if she really needed to, she was sure she could manage it again.

But she prayed to Nayru that she wouldn't have to. Not with Link.

* * *

Packing wasn't as difficult as it had been, in the past. Maybe it was because they hadn't had to _buy_ as much, or maybe it was because Shad and Ashei and the girls were so willing to help them while they were still around.

Or, maybe, it was because Sheik wasn't part of the packing much at all.

Every time she had tried, they shooed her off and sent her away. Always with something about 'rest' and 'it's absurd enough that you're setting out like this, so you should at least let us help you while we still can.'

Fortunately the impromptu lectures stopped when Shad and Ashei and the girls left.

Though Sheik couldn't do much to see them off, she was at least permitted to be up and about as they left. Their farewells weren't much, as none of them knew each other extraordinarily well, but there was certainly a bittersweet feeling to their farewell.

Link had hugged Shad and Ashei both—to Sheik's great surprise, considering his natural aversion to Ashei—and had been affectionate with most of the girls, as well. Sheik had remained apart for most of the farewells, offering a solemn bid for the party to stay careful, and to be good to Malon and the other girls at the Ranch.

But when Ashei approached her, Sheik allowed the formalities to drop just a bit, and she extended a hand.

Instead of a handshake, Ashei took her hand and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't do anything that dangerous ever again," she said, and Sheik's eyes widened at the protective tone. "I'm not going to forget what you did for us, you hear?"

"I'll…" Sheik stiffened under Ashei's hold, but finally relaxed enough to wrap her arms around the other girl. "…I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Ashei pulled away, attempting to adopt a brave smile—but it didn't completely cover up her worry. "We'll keep in touch. Write me at this address, and the letters will find their way to me eventually. If you ever need somewhere to stay, I… You know who to call."

With that, Ashei slipped a piece of paper into Sheik's hand, and Sheik stared at it, somewhat dumbfounded. Still, she didn't protest. "I will," she said. Then, after a beat, "Thank you. Travel safely."

Ashei smiled and nodded, and Sheik hoped against hope that they would all make it to Lon Lon Ranch in one piece.

* * *

Not long after that, the company was on the road and the Ise Mansion was silent. Sheik was left to Link, to her planning, and to her recovery.

If she were being honest with herself, Sheik would have been happy to leave the same time as Ashei and Shad. But Link had protested, and they'd extended their stay.

Apparently, being barely able to walk meant she wasn't allowed to ride on horseback. It was only a five-day journey, Sheik had protested, but somehow, she'd neglected to convince her partner.

Link, who was still avoiding her most of the day, and being _overprotective_ the rest of it. Every attempt at conversation ended with him shutting her out—and, if Sheik wasn't getting worried about the sheer amount of self-blame he was having, she might have been irritated.

She'd been hurt, and he'd helped her. Despite Link's insistence that there was more to it than that, the more time that passed, the more she wanted to forget the matter entirely and just move on, before her suspicious ate her alive.

But Link refused to.

Sheik sighed. If there was one thing they shared in common, it would probably be stubbornness—but she hadn't expected Link to be _this_ set on the matter.

At least she had the library, and that no one had deemed planning and researching too 'strenuous' for her. It was a good distraction from her current problems—and a good way to focus her energy into solving a greater problem:

Hyrule.

In the library, she devoted herself to every book about Hyrule's history she could find. Everything from the long lost Era of Sky to their current era. As always, there was little about the Hero of Time, but Sheik had the best primary source she could have on that one.

There wasn't much information on the Triforces, unfortunately, or of any other mystic power. Probably because Hyrule had only recently begun to follow the old ways again.

It was no secret that belief in the Three had waned during the Era of Twilight. Maybe because of the progression of technology and the sudden, horrific Invasion. That was enough to drive any Three-fearing Hylian away from religion entirely. And yet, as the situation in Hyrule got progressively worse with corrupt kings and queens following the Zelda of Twilight, the people had slowly turned back to the old ways.

Primarily, to Din.

They prayed for power, for a way to better their status. They prayed for a leader who would listen to them, who would heed their desperation. They prayed for agency and healthy crops—for their children to have a better life than the one they were currently living.

Sheik couldn't blame them.

Ecchar—despite being the most extreme example—wasn't the only city smothered by crime and corruption. From Marr and Ecchar to Solen and Ise, Hyrule was getting worse.

It was no surprise that a hero had been chosen in this generation. But Sheik could only wonder at the catalyst.

She knew that the castle had been taken over, and that whoever had taken it had the Triforce of Power. She also knew that they were likely the one ruining towns throughout Hyrule and prompting citizens to herd together in the bigger cities, like animals. So, _clearly,_ they had powerful magic.

And, factoring in the brutal magic against Kakariko, a vendetta against the Sheikah.

There were a few groups that disliked the Sheikah, of course. As a race mired in shadow and in service to a long-forgotten deity, and as enforcers of the King's rule, it was no wonder that people feared them.

Still, perhaps Sheik was reading too far into it. Perhaps the strike at the Sheikah was merely a way to prompt Zelda out of hiding.

Without more knowledge of who had taken over the castle, Sheik could only speculate.

Sheik ran a hand through her hair, hating that she didn't know—that all she could do was watch and wait and study. Part of her hated that she and Link were even bothering to clean up towns that no one was returning to. Was it worth defeating giant monsters if no one was willing to come home? Was it worth _dying_ for?

And yet, she couldn't just leave the towns as they were.

Perhaps breaking the towns' spells was a way to weaken their enemy. Sheik hoped it was the case. Regardless of her personal feelings, the Triforce of Wisdom wouldn't allow her to ignore the cities. She couldn't leave the towns unhealed; she needed to save them, whatever the costs.

She couldn't waste time getting caught up on side-notes to the larger story, though. Not wanting to waste time in the only library she had access to, Sheik read everything she could get her hands on. Despite not knowing for sure if it was a conflict against Zelda or against the Sheikah, Sheik nevertheless focused on conflicts between groups.

Whether it was truly the heart of the issue, there was heat in her left hand every time she passed the anthropological section, so she figured it was important. It wasn't much, but there were several books on the Sheikah, and the Gerudo, and ancient and modern Hylians alike. So she found herself reading everything in those sections, and cross-referencing them with other books to find patterns.

In the end, the only important note was this:

The Gerudo and the Sheikah had hated each other for millennia.

Perhaps the Gerudo were jealous of the Sheikah's (once) close interaction with the Goddess Hylia, while they prayed to a Sand-Goddess who hadn't shown herself for millennia.

Perhaps the Sheikah were jealous of the Gerudo's ability to get their magic from the sun, whereas the Sheikah burned themselves out if they used too much magic.

Or perhaps the conflict ran deeper than any anthropological notes could cover.

Whatever the case, Sheik found herself overwhelmed with cultural notes on both. She had, after all, been raised around Impa—but her early years had been spent in a Hylian castle, and even when she'd lived with Impa, she had still been treated more Hylian than Sheikah.

The best notes about the _Gerudo_ , though, came from the Hero's Journal.

Granted, there was a lot about them that was probably incorrect. The Hero was very clear that the Gerudo women were under a spell—brainwashed, more likely. But despite their brainwashing, they were noble adversaries, and they gave him more fight than most enemies.

From what he could tell, women would train for years in order to become Iron Knuckles. The labor was divided evenly among the tribe, and everyone who was able to work, did. He had never worked out how the Gerudo continued on as a race (what with only one man being born every hundred years), but fortunately the books at the Ise library covered that.

Evidently, the Gerudo could take Hylian men as their own and create children with them. Despite their Hylian fathers, the children would always be women, and the Gerudo genetics never waned. Every daughter had red hair and amber eyes and beautiful copper skin. Perhaps there was magic involved, perhaps not.

As she looked deeper into the history, however, Sheik couldn't help her compassion.

This entire race depended on Hylians for survival, and yet they were shunned to the desert. After the Hyrulean Civil war, they were treated as enemies, and a deep rift formed between the Gerudo and other races. Despite once-close ties to the Gorons and the Zora, every other tribe had taken sides with the Hylian Royal family, and severed ties with the Gerudo.

And yet, the Hylians and the Gerudo had both committed atrocities during that war. But because Hylians were the victors, they had the power to cast off the Gerudo and keep them in the desert.

Perhaps worst of all was the Hero of Time's hand in all this. Despite his pure, honest intent to save Hyrule, he had killed dozens—maybe even hundreds—of Gerudo women. He had saved Hyrule from a Gerudo tyrant, and no one could fault him for that (if only history remembered him). But he had, nevertheless, come into Gerudo lands and killed them in their own homes.

Yes, they'd been brainwashed.

And yes, the Hero of Time wasn't the only hero to do it.

(Sheik had read the Hero of Twilight's biography—had read intimate letters to the Twilight's Queen and ' _Midna'_ talking about the atrocities he'd committed during the war. She knew he had killed the Twili, and that it was later revealed it was possible to save them, and easily, at that.)

And, yes, he hadn't wanted to kill them.

But he had done it nonetheless.

Sheik thought to her own era's hero—to _Link_ —and prayed to Nayru that he would not have to travel that path.

And yet, Sheik wondered if he already had. She didn't know what nightmares kept him up at night, but given his earlier protests, she wondered if she had a guess. Once, he had sworn that he wouldn't kill Hylians, and he had kept to it to the best of his ability. He'd even restrained her from doing the same, a few times. But time and time again, circumstances had forced his hand.

Sheik had barely noticed the change.

She wondered, despite herself, what toll it was taking on Link's psyche.

But the whole purpose of reading at Ise's library was to distract her from thinking of Link, and so she forced those worries out of her head.

It wasn't until the third day of this—a full week after waking up in the mansion—that her study time was broken up. She was forced to think about Link again; forced to avoid him avoiding her.

Because, _finally_ , she and Link had everything they needed.

And after what felt like forever, Sheik was deemed fit for travel.

Sheik would be lying if she said she wasn't grateful for the break in the monotony. Much as she loved books, she was ready to get back into the world and get back to work.

Sheik was almost as ready for answers as she was for the quest to continue.

Almost.

She wanted the distance between herself and Link to evaporate, first and foremost. She wanted to know the truth, and what had happened, and why Link had started shutting her out. And she wanted to know what she could do to prevent that—whatever it was—from ever happening again.

But she wasn't sure if she was ready for what the truth entailed.

Whatever it was, it had genuinely shaken Link. And Link, though she'd never admit it, was one of the only steady presences in her recent life. For something to shake him—something other than flashbacks and nightmares—meant that something was gravely wrong.

Not to mention she'd _missed_ him.

Frustrated as she was with him and his recent silence, she did still care about him. And she knew that it would hurt him to keep this secret for much longer.

She'd wanted to ask several times already. She _had_ asked, a few of them. Link's responses were less than forthcoming—and that, more than anything, had irritated Sheik. Avoiding her was one thing, but dancing around her questions was somehow worse.

But forcing the issue before would solve nothing, she knew.

Even though he'd only made her save her questions for the road because there were other people in the mansion—and now the mansion was empty—a promise was a promise. Stupid as it was, she couldn't force him to speak before he was ready.

So Sheik bit the bullet and saved her questions for the trip to Kakariko.

* * *

After how long he had kept her waiting, Sheik had expected him to be more forthcoming when they were actually on the road.

She had been wrong.

Link remained silent as ever, fidgeting with the reins as he led Epona forward, slowly down the mountain. Sheik had matched his silence at first, waiting for him to be the one to break it, but he never did.

And that, more than anything, was what made Sheik's temper start to flare.

She had been waiting a week for his answer already. And now, when he had promised to tell her here, he remained silent? Had that promise meant nothing to him?

Or was he just a _coward_?

They were a few hours down the mountain when Sheik finally had had enough of waiting.

Link hadn't told her anything for days; goddesses be damned, he'd barely _spoken_ to her. Even aside from that, even if he hadn't been pushing her away for the last week, she needed to know the truth. Link could run from it all he liked, and he could regret _making_ that promise all he liked, but Sheik would hold him to it.

Because if he had a secret that was tearing him up inside _that much_ , Sheik needed to know.

Not just for her sake, either. From everything she knew about him, Link had been through enough hardship to last several lifetimes. If he was holding onto something this big, it might be able to send him over the edge.

And Sheik, much as she cared about him, couldn't save the world with him if he couldn't even save himself.

…But, more than that, if she couldn't trust him to tell her something so important, than what else couldn't she trust him with?

Though she'd tried to keep her suspicions at bay (not to mention her paranoia about him learning her identity), Sheik could feel them rising up inside of her. She'd done her best to repress them until now, but she could take it no more.

So finally she put her hand on Link's upper arm, prompting him to turn and look at her. Once she was sure she had his attention, she leaned closer, not wanting her voice snatched away by the wind. "You said you'd tell me on the way to Kakariko," she said. "We are on our way to Kakariko."

Link's expression immediately turned guilty. "Sheik, I…"

"I want to know. Before something else pops up, before there's some new Nayru-forbidden disaster we have to take care of, before you can come up with some excuse not to tell me." When Link still fell silent, Sheik narrowed her eyes. "You made a _promise_ , Link. If you go back on it, I won't forgive you."

Link let out a long, slow breath, the white of it lingering in the cold air. "I know," he said, and he sounded miserable enough that she believed him. "I just… I'll tell you if you make me a promise, first."

Sheik narrowed her eyes. " _I_ only make promises I know I can keep," she said. "You should try doing the same."

Her partner winced like he'd been stung, but he didn't argue. "At least hear me out," he said. "I'm… I know I'm going to say things that you don't want to hear. And you're going to be angry, and upset, and I…" He closed his eyes a moment, looking like he already regretted the words he was trying to say. "…And I deserve that reaction. Whatever awful thing you're going to think about me, I probably deserve it. But Sheik, please don't stop me before I'm done. At least hear what I have to say. All of it."

Sheik felt a sinking in her stomach as she listened to Link's pleading. He wasn't exactly doing much to build confidence, and she felt her suspicion start to override the trust they'd worked so hard to build.

But it wasn't forgotten completely, because Sheik didn't say no. Instead, she stared at him long and hard, finally prompting him to face forwards so he could steer. "I'll hear what you have to say for yourself," she said quietly, hesitantly. When she saw Link visibly relax—was he really that tense?—she added, "But don't expect me to forgive and forget. I don't like being lied to, Link."

She thought she heard Link murmur, "Neither do I," but with the wind as strong as it was, and with him no longer facing her, she couldn't tell. That aside, Link was quiet for a while, and finally bowed his head. "I understand," he said. "And… I understand if, after this, you don't want to travel together anymore."

"Stop saying things like that unless you have a damn good reason," Sheik snapped. Realizing she was being rather harsh, she let out a slow sigh, shaking her head. "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."

Despite her permission, Sheik didn't feel ready at all. From what it sounded like, no matter what Link was going to say, it would be some kind of betrayal. Or worse, that he already knew her secret. Because, goddesses, did he know her birth name? Did he know about her Triforce? Had he seen her blue eyes?

As Sheik tried to prepare herself, though, Link did, too. He let out several long, tightly-controlled sighs before, finally, he calmed.

No matter what Sheik had been expecting, though, it wasn't what followed.

"It's my fault you almost died back at the compound," he finally said. "Because of my Triforce."

No matter how long Sheik was silent, Link didn't seem to want to continue. But without some kind of elaboration, she had no idea what he meant. Finally she rested her hand on his thigh, just to show she was listening. Though he was still quiet for a while, finally, _finally_ , he continued.

Link tensed against her touch. "It's…" he hesitated. "It's also the reason you saved me the first time we met—and the second. And every time after that."

Sheik narrowed her eyes, but she didn't have to prompt Link again for him to continue. For once, he did it on his own.

"You were right not to believe me when I said my Triforce just gave me the ability to… to revive from death. You were right. There's more to it than that. But I couldn't… where we were, in Tal… With how short we'd known each other, and how—how you were so closed off, I thought… if I told you anything more, then…"

"You've already told me you lied to me. I don't want to hear your excuses," Sheik said, trying not to sound half as angry as she felt. "I want to hear the _truth_ , Link."

Link nodded. "You know that Farore is the one who gave life to Hyrule, right?" he asked. "She's also known for courage. Not like Din, or Nayru. Din respects power, and gives power, especially if it's to better a determined person's status. And Nayru is all about moral codes. But… Farore…" He hesitated again, and she could practically hear him worrying his lip. "She protects life. She will not give someone the power to kill. Not unless it's self-defense or a higher purpose."

Sheik didn't need canvassing. She needed the truth, and Link seemed to be stalling. Sheik felt irritation bubbling up in her, and it was with a rather sharp tone that she snapped, "Get to the _point_."

Link winced, but slowly found his voice again. "I… When I was given the Triforce of Courage, it… it didn't just give me the power to come back from dying. It… it helps me stay alive in dangerous situations. It—it does something to manipulate the circumstances whenever my safety is concerned. There was a book that mentioned something called 'circumstance manipulation.' I'm still not sure exactly what that means, but…"

Sheik narrowed her eyes. "But?"

When Link didn't immediately respond, Sheik moved her hand up to his arm, trying to prompt him to answer. Despite her touch, and despite her direct question, Link still didn't speak for a while. It wasn't until she gripped his arm harder—still not enough to hurt him, damn her sentimentality—but enough to get his attention.

"It doesn't just manipulate circumstances, Sheik," he said. "It… it manipulates people, too."

Sheik let go of his arm, body going still. At her silence, Link hung his head. Apparently he'd been hoping for some kind of answer, but Sheik wouldn't give him one.

Not when he'd dropped a bombshell like that.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Sheik," Link said. It scared her how numb she felt—how _used_ —even without his elaboration. "I _know_ I should have told you. But the Triforce acts on its own. It doesn't answer to me. I didn't even know it was doing it at first. Not until I got lucky too many times, with too many people."

Sheik was quiet for a while, having trouble finding her voice. When she did find it, though, she hated how shaky it felt—how close she was to coming undone. "Did you know when you met me?"

"Sheik…"

"Did you _already know_ it manipulated people when you met me?"

Link was silent. The silence spoke for itself, but somehow, it hurt worse when he finally found the courage to say, "Yes."

Sheik pulled her hand away from him. She wasn't sure if she wanted to strike him, or push him away, or just hop off of Epona and walk back to Kakariko by herself. She didn't know if she wanted to scream, or yell, or actually listen to him like she had promised. She didn't even know what she was feeling. Not exactly.

She wasn't sure if she _wanted_ to know what she was feeling.

"Then what's left to say?" Sheik said, voice flat. It was surprisingly strong, though Sheik knew it wouldn't last. "You used me. Knowingly."

Mind made up, Sheik hopped out of the saddle once Epona was stopped. Though she had no other ride to Kakariko and it would be several days' journey on foot, Sheik wasn't about to ride the rest of the way with Link. Not when he'd lied to her and manipulated her apparently from the start.

"Sheik, wait," Link said. He stopped the horse, finally turning in the saddle to look at her. "Don't shut me out again. _Please_ don't shut me out again. I couldn't take it if—"

"At least when I lie to you, it doesn't have the potential to get you killed," Sheik snapped. Much as she wanted to avoid him, when she heard footsteps behind her, she whirled around to face him, looking down on him with the angriest expression she could muster. "At least when I lie to you, it's to protect you, and not to save my own damn skin."

Link stilled in front of her. But if he knew what she was talking about when she said she lied to him, he didn't say anything. Instead, he just looked at her, hurt in his eyes.

When he didn't reply, Sheik knew she'd struck him right where it hurt. _Good_ , she thought to herself, pretending not to feel guilty over the look on his face. But an argument wasn't an argument when Link wasn't saying anything back, so there was nothing left for Sheik to say, either.

Link didn't follow her when she turned and walked away.

Though she'd left all of her equipment on Epona, she trusted that Link wouldn't run off and steal it—unless, of course, he was lying about that, too. Sheik felt a surge of hurt that was shortly followed by anger. But the last thing she needed was for her emotions to get the better of her, so she squashed both feelings down and walked towards the tallest tree she could find.

Leaves crunched under her feet as she walked. It would have irritated her more, if she could hear it over the sound of blood rushing through her ears, or over her own angry thoughts.

But the anger was the first to wane. After that came the intense, sickening feeling of betrayal. Of being lied to. Of being _used_.

Eventually, her thoughts no longer had words—just a buzz of hurt in her chest, and in her head.

It took a long time for that buzz to wane. When it did, Sheik was struck first by how far she had traveled, and then by how _cold_ it was.

Winter would be arriving soon, she realized, looking up at the trees that were steadily losing their leaves—and at the brown leaves on the ground around her, half hidden by gravel. It would mean a shortage of supplies and difficulty traveling, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

And just like that, thoughts replaced the emotional quiet she had entered, and she felt a surge of anger yet again—but this time, less pointed. She had no Ocarina of Time, no way to go back and change the past, or to keep herself from trusting Link.

Just like she couldn't stop Impa from dying.

Just like she couldn't stop her father for abandoning her.

Just like she couldn't stop her own emotions.

And, just like Link couldn't stop his Triforce.

But unlike any of _those_ things, Link could have _told_ her. Preferably before she almost died for nothing. Because unlike Sheik, _Link could revive_. And there was no reason why she should have put herself at risk when he wasn't in any real danger.

Sheik forced herself to take deep, slow breaths.

The last thing she needed was to get angry and do something stupid. Something she'd regret. She had half a mind to take Epona herself, but it wasn't her horse, and though she wasn't above petty theft, she couldn't in good conscience leave him in the middle of a mountain with no supplies.

She wanted to, so much that she almost felt sick with want, but she couldn't.

Before today, Sheik had been woefully naïve of betrayal. Already, she wanted that ignorance back. She wanted to go back to a few days ago, where she implicitly trusted Link. With their mission, with her life, with her heart.

But there was no going back.

Sheik closed her eyes, hating the sting of tears behind them. She hadn't cried in years—hadn't had the luxury of crying in years—and she was damned if she was going to start today. Not over him of all people.

At least he'd neglected to follow her.

At least—if nothing else—she had solitude. It had been her only company for so many years that she felt almost comforted, if just for the moment. Much as she hated the idea of going on her own again, at least solitude couldn't betray her.

Sheik came upon the tallest tree in the wilderness, some distance from Epona. Though it was strong and tall, its branches were barren with the coming winter. It wouldn't give her much coverage if she wanted to hide from Link. But it probably wouldn't be the first place he'd look. Plus she'd be able to see him coming from quite a distance—and know ahead of time if he planned to leave without her.

In her heart, Sheik knew he would never leave without her, no matter their disagreement, but in the wake of his lies, she couldn't put trust in him.

So she climbed the tree and allowed herself to get lost in thought.

If nothing else, she could trust in her own company. There were, after all, no secrets between herself.

* * *

It might have been a few minutes later that Link came looking for her, or it might have been hours. Sheik hadn't been paying attention, too lost in thought to think about it. All she knew was she was angry and cold—and, more than that, ready to move on.

So when Link came crunching through the leaves and ice and snow of the mountain, Sheik didn't attempt to hide from him. She merely dropped from the tree and allowed him to approach.

He didn't run towards her, she noted. He didn't even speed his walk. If anything, he slowed it, watching her as if she was some kind of wild animal poised to attack. _Good_ , Sheik thought. If he thought she was feral, then maybe he wouldn't try to win her trust again.

Privately, Sheik acknowledged that she wanted him to try anyways, if just for the satisfaction of turning him down.

But when he came close, Sheik saw tear-trails on his face, and she felt a pang in her heart.

She wasn't sure whether it was his Triforce or her own misplaced empathy, so she pushed that feeling away. After betraying her trust like that, Sheik certainly didn't want to feel bad for him.

And yet…

Sheik looked away when he tried to meet her eyes. "Let's go," she said. "We will discuss this later. After we're down the mountain."

There was unspoken compromise there; _We have one horse_ , it said, and, _Neither of us wants to freeze to death or go down the mountain on foot._

Perhaps under that (buried deep, deep down) was the thought of forgiveness. But if it was there, Sheik didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she finally met Link's gaze, keeping her expression cold and detached. After all, if there was anyone who should be looking away, it was Link. Sheik hadn't betrayed his trust—hadn't compromised his safety with her lies.

Link looked away after a moment, shame prompting his gaze downwards.

"Lead the way," Sheik prompted. "Quickly. The sooner we're off this mountain, the better."

If Link was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he merely nodded, keeping his emotions as in-check as he could manage. It was easy to see through him, of course, as he hadn't had ten-plus years of practice squashing his emotions down, but Sheik appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Without a word, he started back to Epona, with Sheik following at a distance.

By the time they made it back to Epona, the heat of the day had settled in. Sheik was grateful for it, as she didn't have to sit so close to Link in order to stay warm.

She wasn't looking forward to the night.

But when sunset was approaching, and they were coming towards a clearing near the base of the mountain, Sheik knew she could put it off no longer. "We'll camp here tonight," she said, stopping Epona beside a large tree. Without another word, she dismounted and began taking off their sleeping rolls and bag of food, intent on getting set up before the sun was down.

Link, thankfully, followed suit.

There was no idle chatter between them, no hopeful remarks about the night being warm, no mention of what they missed about inns or city life. But the camp was set up in record time, and soon they had a small campfire resting between them.

There was nothing keeping them from talking, now, save for the mutual desire to stay silent. But one of them had to breach it. One of them had to say something, anything, before they went to sleep.

Though Link was generally the more sociable between them, the tension in his shoulders told Sheik enough. If she wanted this stalemate to end, she had to speak first.

"So," she said, not looking up at him. "You lied to me and used me."

Link didn't say anything for a while, and Sheik wondered if he was too upset to speak—if he was crying again. But when he spoke, his voice was clear. Exhausted, but clear. "I did."

"Why?"

"I had a mission." Link sighed, slumping forward with his arms crossed over his knees. The very picture of solitude and shame. "I was asked to find the princess."

"That doesn't explain why you manipulated and used me," Sheik snapped. "I didn't even want to work together, Link. You were the one who insisted on coming with me." She thought back to those first few days, when he'd threatened to write to the King on her behalf. "Was it because you knew I'd protect you unconditionally?"

At least _that_ prompted a response. Link immediately sat up, looking at her with wide, startled eyes. "What?" he asked, sounding genuinely upset. "No—Sheik, _never_. I would never endanger someone like that."

"Then _why_."

"Because I…" Link bit his lip. "I don't know what it was, exactly. You… When I first saw you, you saved my life. First impressions, you know? And then you did it again. And you… I don't know what it was, Sheik. All I knew was that I thought you were the most incredible person I'd ever laid eyes on. But then…" He ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back. "But then you returned with Ilia and we fought together at Telma's, and… It felt right, fighting side-by-side, but I—I also saw you get hurt. And I think I realized that—Sheikah or not, you were still… fallible."

Sheik narrowed her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you," she said, tone dry. "That doesn't explain why you lied to me about writing to the King or why you kept your Triforce's real power a secret."

"I already told you why I wrote to the King," Link said. "And why I kept it a secret."

"Maybe I want some elaboration," Sheik snapped. "I think I'm owed that, after you endangering me this entire time."

Link leaned forward, sighing. "Yeah," he said. "Alright."

He was silent for a while, seeming to need time to collect himself. Sheik allowed him a few moments before her ire started to set back in, and she leaned back, crossing her arms and closing herself off. Once Link saw that she was growing irritated, he sighed and scratched the back of his neck, looking lost.

"I thought I could protect you," he finally said. "I thought you'd be safer with me. That my Triforce might protect you, too, if I tried hard enough. Obviously I was wrong." Link shook his head. "I wanted to tell you, I swear—"

"And I wanted to not be lied to," Sheik snapped, cutting him off. "I wanted to be safer with you, like I thought I was. But I guess we don't always get what we want."

Link looked up at her, hurt obvious in his eyes. "You _know_ that's not fair, Sheik."

"And why not? You said it yourself—I almost died because you didn't tell me the extent of your Triforce's power."

" _I didn't tell you because you would have left!_ "

It was the first time that Link had ever really shouted at her.

Sheik had to admit, she was startled. But she didn't show it, merely keeping her face as cold and impassive as before. "Maybe I should have," she said. "Maybe I still should."

Link went silent.

"I can't trust you to tell me the truth. And if I'm in danger when I'm around you because I can't think straight, then we shouldn't be putting ourselves in battle together. I'm sorry," Sheik said, looking away. As she said it, she felt a surge of emotion, and it she had to force herself to keep her glamour in place after such an emotionally draining day. "But I have my own destiny to worry about."

"I know." Link sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Believe me, I know. That's what got us into this situation in the first place, isn't it? We… we both just want to protect Zelda."

Sheik bit her lip. Not for the first time, she was grateful for her mask—grateful that she could keep some of the stronger emotions shelved behind white gauze. "…Right."

And there was such a look of longing in Link's eyes, so much hurt buried there, that Sheik regretted lying to him for so long.

But she didn't know how much was genuine guilt, and how much was his Triforce. And if she couldn't trust her own head anymore, she couldn't trust anything.

Sheik abruptly stood, shaking her head. "I need to get some air," she said. "I can't trust myself to make decisions around you, Link."

Before she could get too far, though, a hand wrapped around her wrist. Sheik bristled, tensing at the contact. The moment she tried to pull away, Link let her, but Sheik still rubbed her wrist as if she'd been rubbed raw.

"Wait," he said, blue eyes flickering with the campfire's light. "Please."

"You've been in my head this whole time," Sheik said. "If I'm going to make a decision—and if that decision's really my own—then I need to leave in order to make it."

"I know, I know." Link let out a sigh. "But I… I know you're thinking it's all been the Triforce, but… Give me some credit, too. You have every right to be angry with me, but I…" He looked down, where his hand was still half reaching for her. "I don't want you to leave, thinking that everything we've ever done together has been because of the Triforce. That's all."

Sheik looked at him, really looked, and clenched her jaw at the defeat in his eyes. No matter how she fought against it, the guilt was starting to eat at her.

The hero of their era, laid low by a Sheikah impersonator.

He'd done good in his life—she knew that much. She hated that even now—even when she was still feeling the sting of betrayal—she was trying to make excuses for him.

But was she really any better?

Though she prayed to Hylia, to _Nayru_ , that he didn't know the truth, she couldn't help feeling guilty about it. If he knew what she was hiding, then he would have every right to be as angry with Sheik as she was with him.

And she knew he'd find out eventually.

She couldn't compromise her safety, no. She couldn't pretend that he was infallible anymore, either. Despite using him as some kind of moral meter-stick for the last few months, she had always _known_ he wasn't perfect. But this, today, had proved that they were on more equal ground than Sheik wanted to admit.

So she took a deep breath, and prepared to make the biggest mistake of her life.

"Does your Triforce light up when it happens?"

Link blinked up at her. "What?"

"Your Triforce," Sheik said. "I… in Impa's writings, it mentioned that sometimes the princess's Triforce would glow when it was using power. And yours did back in Tal, didn't it? Does it glow for things like this?"

"…Sometimes," Link said, biting the inside of his cheek. "But sometimes it'll just feel warm instead and I won't be able to see anything. Why?"

"It might be a good indicator of when it's the Triforce, and when it's—when it's something I actually feel."

Link finally looked back up at her, his eyes searching hers. For what, Sheik didn't know, but she felt her cheeks grow warm under her mask. "Has it been interfering with your feelings that much?"

"I'm asking because I don't know for sure," she said. "I… I never know, anymore."

"Sheik…"

"I need to go."

She hesitated, though, as she turned.

Because, before she made any decision—before she made a decision whether to stay with him or set out to Kakariko alone, she needed to _know_.

It seemed that Link had been dropping hints for months that he knew more about Sheik's identity than he let on. And earlier, when he mentioned protecting Zelda—he said nothing about _finding_ her anymore. Not to mention he hadn't just seemed guilty while they were talking. He'd seemed sad. Let down. _Hurt_. As if he knew her resentment was unfair when she'd done something so similar for just as long.

So Sheik steeled herself, closed her eyes, and checked her glamour again—just in case. Some small part of her hoped it would be for the last time. But Sheik knew she was never that lucky.

"Is there… anything _else_ you need to tell me, Link? Before I make a decision?"

Link looked up at her—really looked—and offered a bittersweet smile. "Nothing you don't already suspect," he said softly. Sheik felt her heart stop in her chest. "But don't let that interfere with what you decide. I won't hold it against you."

He didn't say anything more—merely took her hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. With that, he turned and walked back to the campsite.

Sheik was left with only three thoughts.

One, that he had been ambiguous, and that she couldn't be sure sure he was talking about their mutual feelings, or her identity. Two, that his left hand had been cold when he took her hand and kissed it.

And, three, that she had known what decision she was going to make long before she made it.

* * *

The stars were out by the time Sheik returned to her bed roll.

Link, respecting her need for space, had gone to his own sleeping mat despite the chill of the night. No matter how frustrated she was with him, she couldn't help the relief in her chest when she saw that he was sleeping peacefully.

So she curled up onto her own sleeping roll, piling blankets over herself till she no longer felt the sting of the night air.

Sheik still had too much to think about, no matter the decision she'd made.

Because if she was going to stay—and she _knew_ she was going to stay—then she had to be more careful. Whether or not Link knew her identity or not, Sheik felt uneasy. Could she really trust him with it?

He'd lied to her about his Triforce—and she'd nearly died because of it.

If he knew her identity, how else might he be endangering her?

And yet, even as she considered it, she forced herself to think back to Ise—to those final moments before she blacked out.

Of course, her memories of Ise were spotty, at best. She remembered Link telling her that whatever she was saying 'wasn't her.' She remembered thinking she was going to die, and preparing for it. She remembered urging Link to take the potion. And then, nothing else.

It occurred to her—perhaps for the first time—that Link had actually tried to _warn_ her.

Sheik pursed her lips together. It was possible that he could catch on and warn her if she was ever slipping over the edge again. But could she trust him to always do that? And, again—she wasn't sure where the boundary of his power laid, and where her own emotions were blinding her to reason.

Because, much as she was loathe to admit it, she felt strongly about him.

And, if there ever came a time that Sheik had to die so that Link would live—without any sort of prompting from Link's Triforce, without any threats to push her over the edge—

She knew she'd choose him, every time.

And that was a scary thought.

Sheik closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but found she couldn't. Her mind was working too hard, using every bit of energy she had left to puzzle through the answer.

In the end, she exhausted herself with thinking 'til she finally fell asleep. She was no closer to having all the answers, but at least she'd given it her best shot.

* * *

The second day was almost exactly like the first. It was peaceable, but some of the tension remained from the previous day. It was all Sheik could do to avoid conversation, though Link attempted it more than once.

He respected her wish for silence for a while each time, and so they continued their journey for hours on end without a word spoken between them.

The night was colder than the first, and Sheik knew they stood a real chance of freezing to death, had it been any colder. Even so, she didn't extend an invitation, and Link didn't ask.

But there was the growing sensation of what could be—of what could return to them. Sheik just had to allow it.

And there came the change.

The third day would have been the same as the previous two, if not for the slow forgiveness working its way into Sheik's heart. Not by logic, certainly—logically, the smart thing to do would be to stick around until Kakariko and then go their separate ways. But her heart, as always, ignored logic and plowed ahead as much as it could before her brain stepped in.

She wasn't going to leave him. And if she wasn't going to leave him, she needed to stop acting like she would.

So between her feelings and the _boredom_ —two days on horseback with nary a word between them—Sheik knew she had to start somewhere.

Especially with the growing pleading tone to Link's voice.

Though Link was not particularly talkative at the best of times, it was rare for him to be so silent for so long. To be met with icy silence for two days was nothing short of torture, Sheik was sure.

And so, the third day, Sheik allowed herself to respond to his halfhearted attempts at conversation.

Never much, and nothing to encourage _more_ conversation. But it was enough to get that pleading edge out of Link's voice—and enough to remind her that moving past this was worth it.

As the day wore on and Link continued to make quiet conversation—with even quieter replies—Sheik thought of the early days in their partnership. The days that he had reached—relentlessly—to win her friendship and trust. It had eventually worked, but not without an ongoing struggle from Sheik, and a few weeks' ambition.

Those weren't days she wanted to go back to. They'd built up their partnership for so long that Sheik couldn't imagine having to completely start over. But it would still take time to settle into easy companionship. She was hardly used to friendship as it was, and so rebuilding that trust after it'd been betrayed was something of a challenge.

But Sheik was nothing if not stubborn.

As night came, Sheik found herself with a question bubbling on her lips. She was only moments away from asking him if he wanted to sleep next to her, if just to stave off the autumn chill. But before she could ask it, her pride thought better of it.

Still, as she laid out her bed roll and turned away from the campfire, she hoped that they would eventually come back to that place.

Not that she'd ever admit it, but Sheik was tired of falling asleep alone.

* * *

When morning came, Sheik was exhausted from spending so much of the night awake—and, despite how she tried to ignore it, she was still healing from her injuries.

But, for the first time in days (as she hadn't gone to bed angry) she felt much more willing to forgive. And, more importantly, to take bigger steps towards that forgiveness.

Her _trust,_ of course, would take more than three days to earn back. But Nayru knew she hadn't always been honest with Link, either. Still, she wasn't sure what she could say to get them on the right track. No matter what she did, it would be difficult to bring them back to their prior arrangement. But now, at least, she was willing to try.

So when she found Link still asleep at the break of dawn, she wasn't shy about waking him.

"We have a long trip ahead," she said, voice cold as ever—but less unkind than it had been. "Get up."

Link blinked owlishly at her for a moment. Upon realizing she didn't seem outright angry with him, he slowly got to his feet. As it was still somewhat dark out, he looked around, obviously confused. "This early?"

"Days are getting shorter," Sheik said. "We need to make the most of them."

Link nodded, slowly getting to his feet.

They packed up camp together, silently loading Epona up with their goods. As they were just finishing, Link paused, moving his hand in front of Sheik's before she could finish tying the last parcel. Though Sheik narrowed her eyes at him, she didn't move her hand away, or try to shut him up.

Encouraged, Link let out a relieved sigh. "Listen, Sheik," he started. "About a few days ago." At this, he bit his lip, as if silently asking Sheik for permission to continue. When she said nothing, he seemed to take it as a 'yes,' and continued, "I… I know we're barely on good terms again, and that's fine. But… If there's anything you need to ask, or anything you, uh, want me to _avoid_ talking about… You have to let me know. I'm not good at this sort of thing."

Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line.

And here came the dilemma—the question Sheik had been putting off for days. Assume Link had guessed her identity, or assume he was talking about her feelings for him?

If she admitted to the former and she was wrong, she ran the risk of telling him something he hadn't already known. But if she admitted the latter, she would be admitting that she had felt something—that she still did, underneath her anger.

One was a cost of safety, and the other was a cost of pride.

Sometimes, Sheik hated having to prioritize her safety.

"Don't bring it up to anyone," she said. Though the last thing she wanted to do was _talk_ about how she felt about him, especially with the secret he'd been keeping, she knew what she needed to do. So she bit the bullet and said, voice strained, "It is no one else's business what I feel about you—not even yours. Understood?"

It took a moment, but Link furrowed his brows, trying to puzzle through her phrasing. "Not even mine?" he asked. "What do you mean, it's not my business?"

"It's not like I _chose_ it," Sheik snapped. Already, she was regretting this aversion. Seeing Link's eyes light up in mischief—and was _this_ the closest thing he'd had to a smile all week?—she let out a frustrated huff. "Drop it. Despite what you think, I'm still upset with you. If you want a peaceful trip to Kakariko, you will not ask me about it again."

"When have we had peace? The entire time we've traveled together, when have we had more than five moments of peace?" Link asked. That almost-smile on his face was growing, and Sheik forced herself to look away. Still, she didn't move her hand from where he held it, and Link gently tightened his grip. "Sheik, please."

"No."

Link let out a sigh, but it seemed he'd expected as much. Still, that almost-smile was on his face, soft and sweet, and Sheik hated that she knew it was there without even looking. "And what if I'm… _glad_ you feel this way?"

"Then get used to disappointment," she said. "Sheikahs under the employ of the King can't date Hylians."

"You told me weeks ago that you don't work for the King," Link said. "Try again."

"Sheikahs desperately searching for missing princesses shouldn't date others who are desperately looking for the princess. Too much competition."

"We're working together, not competing," he said, leaning a little closer. "Another?"

"We…" Sheik let out a sigh, still not looking at him. "We are completely incompatible, in every way imaginable. And we're both liars. And manipulators. With backgrounds and records that will be impossible to reconcile. And there's not a chance this could ever work."

Link leaned a little closer. "And what if we're both stubborn enough to try?"

Sheik allowed her shoulders to relax for the first time in weeks. Though she was putting up a good fight, it was impossible to stay angry with him forever, and in her heart she didn't _want_ to. Not when he was trying so hard to make it up to her.

Still, no matter what she felt, she knew what her answer had to be.

"What do you want from me, Link?" At his knowing silence, Sheik finally leaned back against him, letting out a harsh breath through her nose. "No matter what we had before, we don't have it right now. I don't even know if we can have it again—if I can trust that what I feel is… _real_. Until I know the limits of your power, I can't take that risk. Maybe eventually—maybe even _soon_. But not right now. My answer is no."

Despite her answer, Link tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned his cheek against her shoulder, his lesser height preventing him from anything further up. "I don't understand you sometimes," he said, voice quiet. "But… I will always respect your answer. And if you say no, no matter what you feel, I won't try to force you. But Sheik…"

He slowly pulled away, and Sheik turned to face him, surprised to see how _downcast_ he appeared.

"I… I just… I wish you'd let yourself _try_. Not just for this. You never chase after your own happiness, Sheik. And sometimes… I really wish you would." He looked away for a moment, then hopped onto Epona. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."

Sheik was quiet as she got in front of him, taking the reins in hand.

Because, though she wouldn't admit it, sometimes she had his same wish.

But wishes weren't reality, and it didn't matter how desperately Sheik had wished for things in the past. It didn't matter how hard she'd prayed for her Father to visit, for Impa to be alive, for someone to take her in off the streets, for there to be hot food at her impromptu shelter. It didn't matter because none of it ever came to pass.

And yet, as she started for Kakariko, she felt a heaviness in her heart.

This was one thing she could control.

It wasn't an outside force. It was something she could choose, within herself. She might not be able to choose her feelings, but she had the choice to act on them and bring happiness to them both.

But Sheik didn't have the Triforce of Courage.

She had the Triforce of Wisdom.

She had logic, and the knowledge that she was already too attached to him, and that she might still be under the influence of his Triforce. She had the knowledge that she was Sheik, and the King's daughter, and a homeless vagrant in her own lands. The smart thing would be to leave him—and, barring that, remain as distant emotionally as she could manage.

So instead of praying for the courage to tell him the truth, Sheik prayed for a change in circumstance.

And that, someday, she would be able to trust her partner the same way he trusted her.

Maybe then they could move faster than a snail's pace.

* * *

 **((I know, I** _ **know**_ **. I vanish for like two months and then come back with something this controversial. It's bound to draw some negative attention, and I hope no one absolutely hates this fic now. However, I** _ **do**_ **have my reasons.**

 **I've been hinting at this from the very beginning. That strange feeling Sheik felt the first time she was near Link? Triforce. I won't say how often it affected her after that, because plot, but… bear in mind that being in love does not (contrary to popular belief)** _ **completely**_ **blind you to rationality. If you find scenes where Sheik's sense of rationality was completely tossed aside, then congrats, you spotted an instance where it wasn't (entirely) Sheik in control.**

 **The reason I chose this (even from the beginning), is to reinforce the idea that 1) Sheik** _ **doesn't**_ **always know what's going on and is an unreliable narrator, 2) that despite what Sheik wanted to believe, Link** _ **does**_ **make mistakes, and 3) that there is always more going on behind the scenes than the reader realizes.**

 **I know some plot details have been a bit inconsistent with this fic (for example, Link mentioned a while ago that the person who took over the castle has the Triforce of Power; and then a few chapters later, it was like they'd both forgotten about that or didn't know.) But hey that's what happens when this is being written as I go and is also about 200K and still ongoing.**

 **Until this gets edited later on and cleaned up, please cut me some slack. I'm doing this for free, and no one is forcing you to read it.**

 **On that note: This chapter took absolutely forever to write for a few reasons. 1) Lack of motivation. 2) Depression, which basically made me lose interest in literally everything for a while, and that's kind of a scary place to be when you've struggled with suicidal idealation for a while and have nothing really tying you down. 3) I'm aromantic asexual and romance** _ **really**_ **is not my spiel. Sometimes while writing this fic, I just have to groan out loud because I genuinely dislike romance. And sometimes that feeling is stronger than others, and sometimes it lasts for a while. Like, say, two months.**

 **Sorry that this took so long, though, and I'm sorry that it probably wasn't as good as you were expecting. Please review anyways, though, and tell me your honest thoughts. If you genuinely hate the direction this story seems to be taking, please tell me. (Politely.) I'll do my best to fix things to make it seem less forced if it seems forced, and I'll endeavor to explain things within the next few chapters. Up next on the agenda is Link's backstory, though—so, uh, hopefully that will sort out a lot of the questions you may have.**

 **As always, thank you for sticking with me, and please review!))**


	26. Chapter 26

**((Note: This chapter is very dialogue heavy, as is to be expected when I have to stay consistent with third-person perspective but it's a different character telling a story. When I was younger I struggled to understand the format of narration within narration, so here's a quick crash course if you're new to it:**

" **When I start a paragraph like this, it starts out fairly normal," X says, nodding seriously at Y. "And then I continue onwards for an inordinately long period of time, generally spanning several more sentences than I'm willing to write for an author's note at the beginning.**

" **But you might notice I never ended that prior paragraph with an end quotation mark. That's fine—it's the proper way to do it, in fact. It shows that there is no new speaker, and that it's someone continuing to speak. I can do this as many times as I like if the same person is talking for long enough, but for now, I'll close this narration and go about with the note."**

 **Anyways, I hope that makes it a little easier to follow Link's narration. And, as always, try to take everything with a grain of salt!))**

* * *

As they continued on towards Kakariko, the autumn chill was setting in in earnest. Or perhaps, Sheik thought, mind only half-aware from the cold, it was because they had to detour through the outskirts Zora's Domain.

Zora's Domain hadn't been friendly to outsiders in ages, but now that they were crossing these borders once more, the foreignness was palpable. Every sign was in Zoranese, not standard Hylian—not even the old versions. And yet, despite it only being navigable by the Zora, it was barren of Zora and Hylian alike, save for Link and Sheik themselves. Had it been the dead of winter, Sheik could have understood—but it was only late autumn.

Still, it was certainly cold enough to be winter. They'd been able to see their breath for miles before entering Zora's domain, and now that they were closer to it, Sheik was grateful for Link's presence behind her to keep her warm. It was cold enough that her hands were stiff on the reigns, fingers barely retaining warmth through the wound-up 'gloves' on her hands. Epona didn't seem any happier navigating the freezing cold terrain, but at least she was getting more exercise than the mere shivering of her passengers.

It was only when Sheik saw a snow-storm coming that she realized something was truly wrong. The pass was already frozen over, which suggested magic over nature. It was suspicious, to say the least, but between the cold and the wind, Sheik couldn't find the energy to analyze it like she wanted to.

It wasn't as if they could solve it from _here_ , either.

Every city affected by magic had its source somewhere near the center. And if even the outskirts of Zora's domain were this cold, Sheik couldn't imagine the gear necessary to travel to the center of Zora's domain.

Not for the first time, she wished she had been able to pick up fire the way she'd learned ice.

Even besides her _inability_ to save Zora's Domain, though, Sheik knew that they couldn't focus on it right now—not with everything else going on. Though she wished they could be everywhere at once, they could only solve one crisis at a time. And right now, they were heading for Kakariko.

Kakariko, her home—gone in one fell swoop, without a single known survivor to tell what had happened to it.

When they arrived, would Sheik even know where the city had rested? Would the foundations be in their places, shadows of the homes that had once rested over them? Or would they be smoothed over? Would the well be there? Or the sacred spring? Most of all, she wondered: would the graveyard still be there, or would it be gone with every home and citizen who'd lived there?

Guilt pooled in her stomach for not coming earlier. Sure, it was important that they'd saved the women at Marr, and gone on to Ise, but it still stung, knowing that she hadn't been here in time to do anything. She might not have been close to anyone but Impa, but it was still her birthplace. Perhaps not her physical birthplace, no, but it was where _Sheik_ was born. It was where she had learned to be herself in every way that mattered.

And it was gone.

It was a tragedy only made worse from the conditions of her last visit. The last time Sheik had been in Kakariko, she'd been a thief. What was worse, for all the love she'd had of the town's proud Sheikah heritage, she'd abused her connections to it. She had come wearing the bold Sheikah armor of decades past, and used it to escape detection while doing wrong. She'd returned to her home as a criminal and a thief, scraping by in the worst of ways. For the first time, she felt regret piling up inside of her, and she knew she couldn't blame the cold dread in her stomach on the winter air around her.

Perhaps the only thing worse than her last encounter with the city, though, was the future she might still have. The wrongs she might still commit against her Sheikah heritage.

Because deep down, Sheik still wasn't sure she wouldn't return to that life once this was all over.

She might have promised Link that she wanted him to still be in her life back at Ise, but… while that was still true, she couldn't be sure the promise would hold. Life happened, whether Link understood that or not. She would do what she needed to survive. She would always do what she needed to survive, no matter how anyone else felt about it.

A surge of defensiveness rose within her at the mere thought of Link's disapproval.

He had been a criminal himself, she knew. And while his story was profoundly different, and he'd somehow managed to find a new life for himself, his circumstances weren't hers. He didn't have to hide his identity every waking moment. He didn't have to isolate himself for a decade for fear of someone finding out his secrets.

If he knew the truth, he wouldn't dare judge her.

Still, Sheik bit her lip, indecisive behind her scarf.

She had once held Link as a standard for what was right. She'd heralded him as a second conscience, given the repression of the conscience she'd had, once. And he had lived up to that in every way that had mattered—until he'd been honest with her and told her about his Triforce. And yet, despite having told her the truth and done the right thing, she knew she'd never be able to hold Link to the standard of goodness she once had.

And after drifting lost and alone for so many years, and finally finding someone that had seemed so profoundly good? Sheik couldn't help but feel like she'd lost something vital. As if Link had lost the qualities that had made him such an unshakeable hero.

Even though he'd changed nothing about himself, his actions were in a different light.

And yes, she'd forgiven him—but she knew he wasn't perfect, now.

And it made the uncertainty of the future seem that much more pronounced.

If Link wasn't perfect—was capable of hiding such a dark and ugly secret—then what chance did Sheik have of staying a hero after all this was finished?

She'd spent years as a thief and a criminal, using subterfuge and magic to stay afloat. If even Link was capable of lying to her about something so important, how did Sheik stand a chance of doing the right thing? It would be so much easier, even now, to go back to thieving—to take advantage of the chaos in Hyrule, to save the girls on her own terms, with as much bloodshed as she was willing, and to steal anything she wanted along the way.

Sheik couldn't do that with Link here. She could—and _would_ —restrain herself, and do the right thing no matter how difficult it was. But, if he wasn't here? If he left after this was all over?

She doubted Link could want her if she became a thief again.

Worse, though, was that she wouldn't even blame him for turning his back on her.

If she were in his shoes, Sheik would probably cut off contact with herself, too.

The silence, the wind, and the cold allowed her to lose her train of thought. With the environment as blank as it was, it was easy to get caught up in every what-if and self-loathing thought she could imagine. It wasn't until she finally heard Link's voice—after what felt like hours—that Sheik felt her mind returning to herself.

"Do you think we'll get a chance to talk with the Zoras again?"

Sheik blinked, feeling as though her eyes had gone blurry. After a moment, she turned to look at her partner, surprise obvious on her face. "…Zoras?" she managed, having a hard time remembering the implications.

Link only nodded. "It's usually pretty warm here—this weather can't be natural."

"Ah." Sheik looked back across the landscape, only half surprised to find that the weather had turned from the cold to almost blizzard-like conditions. "Zora's Domain has a long history of being frozen during times of Crisis," she said, thinking back to the Hero of Twilight and the lost history of the Hero of Time. But as much as she wanted to intervene, her prior convictions still stood. "If it's anything like the other cities, we'll have to go through Zora's Domain for ages before we find the center," she said. "We can't afford to spend that much time here when we're on the way to Kakariko."

Though Link didn't look happy, he didn't protest. "I know," he said, shaking his head. "I just don't want to forget about this place. Or about the Gorons."

Sheik furrowed her brows. "What about the Gorons?"

"If Kakariko is gone, what happened to them?" he asked. "That city was their one major link to Hylians, and now it's gone."

"It was also the last cultural tie for my people," Sheik said, frowning a little deeper beneath her mask. "I'm sure the Gorons will be fine. They're made of rock."

"That hasn't stopped them from facing crises in the past," Link said, shaking his head. "With the Hero of Twilight—"

Sheik grit her teeth. "I know," she cut in. "And I know it was even more serious in the era of the Hero of Time—but I can't focus on anything but Kakariko right now, Link. They need me, wherever they are."

Link was quiet for a moment, but she felt a heavy sigh from behind her, his chest pressing even closer than before for a moment, his warm breath on her neck. "I know," he finally said. "But, Sheik… _All_ the Gorons live on Death Mountain, with Kakariko at the base of it. And nearly every Zora in Hyrule lives in Zora's Domain. Most of the Sheikah live at the Castle, or scattered around Hyrule."

It was a fair point, and somewhere in her, Sheik knew that. But she couldn't force back the frustration she felt. "I know," she finally said, letting out a sigh. "But it was still my home. And the last time I was there…"

Unable to say anything more on the subject, she pressed her lips into a thin line and just stared straight ahead. The last thing she needed was to steer Epona into a ditch somewhere just because she couldn't stay focused.

Though it was clear Sheik didn't want to say more on the matter, though, Link was less inclined to listen. He pressed a kiss against her shoulder, and Sheik swallowed back a rebuke.

"You don't need to defend yourself," he said, and Sheik could barely hear the soft tone over the wind. "I… I know it's hard, going back to the place you grew up if you left on… bad terms. But there are people at risk, Sheik. You know that."

It felt as though Link was referring to something important, with the first bit—but her defenses raised before she could ask. "You promised we would go to Kakariko next," Sheik said stubbornly. "And that is what we are going to do. Hylian men, women, and children were living there, too. I'm not going to abandon _them_ , either, no matter what comes of my people."

Link only sighed. Sheik supposed it was even clearer now that her mind was made up—and though guilt still settled in the pool of her stomach, she was grateful that his questioning had ended.

* * *

Hours passed before they had reached warmer temperatures again.

They'd switched positions a few times on the outskirts of Zora's Domain, alternating the spaces they warmed against each other. But despite the occasional movement and the snippets of conversation, the day drug on in a cold, damp haze.

It wasn't until they'd been back on Hyrule Field for an hour that Sheik could feel the sun's warmth once more.

Even then, it took Link's voice to rouse her from the half dead state she was in.

"We should switch again," he said, voice soft in her ear. It took a moment for Sheik to realize that she was the one leading. "Can you stop?"

Sheik complied instead of answering him.

As she was boarding behind him, however, it still took a while for her mind to return to her. And once it was free of the numbness, it quickly found other distractions to occupy her, rather than anything related to the mission.

The sunny skies were distracting in their own way, but with Link's ashen hair in front of her, it was difficult to focus on much else.

Especially when his left hand was gripping the reins.

The left hand that held the Triforce of Courage—whose proximity to Sheik, apparently, could manipulate her actions. And not just her actions, either—but her head, and her heart. Even if Sheik had made her peace with Link, it was difficult not to see his hand and wonder, deep within her, if she should have forgiven him as easily as she had.

But she also knew that not forgiving him wasn't an option.

There were too many people depending on them—on both of them, as a _team_ —for her to stay angry.

And even aside from her duty, Sheik knew in her heart that she couldn't withhold forgiveness forever. Whether his Triforce had influenced Sheik to care about Link or not, that feeling was still there. She could ignore it as much as she wanted—the same way she ignored memories of being Zelda, and of her father—but that didn't mean those feelings weren't there.

Without thinking, Sheik rested closer, leaning her cheek against Link's shoulder.

Link froze, but didn't move to push her away. He didn't reciprocate, either, but Sheik knew that had more to do with him trying to ride than him being intentionally stingy.

Not that she blamed him, if he was.

Sheik had been a beast to him over the last few days.

She had reason for it, of course—and a damn good reason, at that. But it was impossible to hold it against him when she was holding so many secrets of her own.

How could Sheik, in good conscience, think that he was manipulative and a liar when he'd been more honest with her than she ever deserved?

Sure, he'd never been forthright with his past, but at least what little he'd told her had been the truth—and he'd never condemned her for eavesdropping, despite his wishes for her to know nothing about his past.

Not that Sheik could judge his past, either.

She had been involved in some awful things when she was younger, too. She'd been a thief, and a cheat, and a liar. For years, she'd used her Sheikah ensemble to get away with stealing nobles' jewelry. How could she ever hate Link for his involvement with Lorule and Hilda? Especially when Sheik only had the faintest idea of what Lorule even was?

Regret struck her, suddenly.

She hadn't given him the same benefit of the doubt that he had given her, time and time again.

He had asked her about her home, and she had told him. He'd asked her about Zelda, and Impa, and growing up in Kakariko. And yes, those questions had seemed probing at the time—but Link's curiosity had seemed genuine.

He truly wanted to get to know her.

Yet what of his own history had he willingly shared?

Sheik almost wished that she didn't know what she did. That so much of his history had been spoiled through eavesdropped conversations and panicked whispers she shouldn't have heard. Perhaps if she'd heard les, he'd be more willing to share it, someday. As it was, Sheik was half afraid that she'd learn the story on her own someday, and Link would never be the one to tell her.

The other half of her was worried of what Link would say if he did tell her.

The secrets she already knew were heavy. It made her stomach churn to wonder what else Link might be hiding behind that sweet face and gentle personality.

And yet, she still wanted to know his history; wanted to know where he had come from, what his story was. She could never tell him her own, and it was a fact she was starting to sorely regret. But, wouldn't it be enough if he could tell her his?

Sheik had lied to him, so many times. Had put him in danger, had treated him like a liability and a waste. And yet, despite how long he'd kept his secrets, he'd told her eventually. Sheik didn't figure it out—not entirely, anyways. Link allowed her to suspect, and ask, and then made the conscious decision to tell her the truth instead of a lie that would throw her off his trail.

Yet, Sheik?

Sheik did everything in her power to keep her secrets. Even when Link suspected, even when he asked about her history, about Zelda, she consciously chose to lie to him.

It hit her, suddenly, that Link had never outright lied.

He'd withheld truths, and allowed her to believe things that weren't true. But he had never outright lied to her.

Guilt sat heavy in her stomach.

Though it would be easy—so easy—to continue pretending that things were fine, Sheik knew she owed him an apology. More than that, she owed him the chance to hear him out. Not just about his Triforce, but everything that had led up to it. Link deserved the benefit of the doubt, and to be heard.

So Sheik tried to find the words to ask—to finally ask—about what he'd been through. Though she'd never been good at being a friend, she'd always been fond of stories besides, and…

Link deserved this chance.

And Sheik, for the first time in her life, wanted to know everything she could about this boy. To really _listen_ to him. To know his entire story, and commit it to memory, without judgment of who he'd been.

The words, however, were slow in coming. It took a while to bring herself to even draw in the breath that would lead to those words—and she resolved to hold it until she had the courage to say what she needed to say.

Her lips had nearly purpled by the time she was ready to speak.

"Link…" she finally managed. Half aware that it had come out as a gasp, she forced herself to take a few slow, calm breaths before trying again. In the interest of not scaring him off by sounding too serious, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "…About earlier. Will you…?"

Link didn't turn to look at her. But he did sound curious. "Will I… what, Sheik?"

Sheik swore internally. "Will…"

Silence fell between them. She thanked Nayru for Link's patience, but it seemed that the longer she stalled, the more curious Link was getting. Not to mention nervous, if the tension building in his spine was any indication. Sheik huffed a sigh before she finally forced herself to continue.

"I meant… Would you…" she started again, frowning a little as she searched for the right words. After realizing there was only so much she could soften this question, she decided to just come out with it. "…Are you ever going to tell me more about where you came from?"

Despite Sheik's intentions, she wasn't all that surprised when Link suddenly froze where he sat.

Sheik decided she couldn't really blame him.

Not when he'd been so closed off about his past. No matter how much Sheik wanted the chance to hear him out, and no matter how much she knew it'd be good for him to talk about this, she cursed herself for not realizing earlier that the topic might have been sudden, and a bit… difficult for him. Considering she'd only ever heard about his past when he was eavesdropping, there was really no doubt that Link was caught off guard by her asking so boldly.

Link's voice was quiet when he finally spoke up. Quiet, and more guarded than Sheik wanted. "When I said I wish you'd 'try,' last night," he said, "…I didn't… I didn't mean like _this_."

Though Sheik knew good and well that she deserved the tone for prying, and for how tense they'd been for the past few days, she couldn't help but feel her heckles rise. Part of Sheik wanted to say something cutting, remind him of the way he'd betrayed her trust only a few days ago.

But she couldn't.

They had made their peace on that as much as they could, and… in truth, she didn't _want_ to hold it against him.

Maybe it was her Triforce making her curious, or the way she had been raised as both a Princess and a Sheikah, with intelligence and wisdom and curiosity fostered through both. Whatever the case, she _wanted_ to know—

And, perhaps, was not the most delicate about the process through which she tried to learn. But for Link, she would try to do the right thing.

"I know," she finally said, quietly, the words barely audible over the wind and the steady trot of Epona's hooves. "I just… really realized how little I know about you, Link," she said. "And I know it's not fair, when I've told you so little about my history. But when you ask, I try to give you an answer, however vague it might be. But you?" she said, frowning a bit. "You just dodge my questions."

And she knew it wasn't fair. She knew that she gave him outright lies, and that was why she was forthcoming with her answers. But, to him, surely she must have seemed more honest?

Despite how it _should_ have seemed, however, Link's voice was sharp when he spoke.

"Has it crossed your mind that I might have a good reason for it?"

But, despite the sharpness, Link sounded wary more than anything. Wary, and guarded—and Sheik knew that she would have to work hard to earn any tone other than that.

Still, Sheik pressed her lips into a thin line, unsure what to say to either fix this or make him feel comfortable with speaking freely. "…I'm not going to hold a knife to your neck and force you to talk about it," she finally said, deciding her words carefully—with more caution than she'd been using around Link lately. "But if… you would ever like to talk about it, I wouldn't mind listening."

Link was silent for a long time. If anything, her question made him _more_ tense, not less. "It's not fair of you to phrase it like that, Sheik," he said. "I doubt you really want to hear it for _my_ sake."

Those words stung more than Sheik was willing to admit.

But, she deserved the words, and the biting tone that came with it.

"…And if I was being honest?"

"Then you have a funny way of showing it," he said. "You've never _asked_ before—not… like that, at least. It always has to be a fight with you." He sounded frustrated, as if it hurt even to admit it. Sheik felt that guilt from earlier surging up again, but she forced it down."—And suddenly you want me to talk about it because you think it'd be good for me?"

"If I was trying to manipulate you, I would have gotten a yes by now," Sheik said, defenses raising. "And I would have brought up our… disagreement, earlier."

"So bringing it up now to prove your innocence is better?" He held the reins stiffly, nothing like the calm he usually handled Epona with. He took a few slow breaths, obviously trying to calm himself before he said something out of turn. But finally he shook his head, forcibly relaxing his shoulders. "Sorry. I just… why would you ask me now of all times? After everything that just happened?"

It took her a moment to decipher what he meant. But she could hear it now, the question underneath. _'Do you still trust me that little? Is this supposed to be a way to earn your trust back? Is it worth it to you, asking something this invasive?'_

And Sheik bit the inside of her cheek, having a difficult time keeping her thoughts steady. "I'm not asking to be callous," she said. "Or to… force you to make up for keeping secrets."

Link's voice was still wary, unconvinced, when he asked, "Then why?"

"I know nothing about you that you've told me yourself." Sheik bit her lip, mulling her options over in her mind. "And… we're supposed to be partners, aren't we?"

"You seem to know most of it already. I know you heard most of it when you were eavesdropping outside Telma's door, Sheik." He leaned forward, head drooping a little. "I'm not… I don't know if it would be a good idea, for you to hear all of it so soon after…"

"Link," Sheik interrupted, refusing to let him feel guilty for a fight they'd resolved. "I was angry about your Triforce, because it has the potential to continue to cloud my judgment, and you had willingly chosen not to tell me." She paused, trying to soften her tone. "And now I know the truth. I'm not still angry about it." Knowing that she still hadn't been fully honest with his question of _'why now,'_ Sheik paused, and allowed the words to finally come free. "I just want to give you the chance to… explain. Not just your Triforce. But… everything. I just—want you to feel like you _can_ tell me, without my judgment."

Link was quiet for a long time, still feeling tense and restless in front of her, and Sheik knew she'd overstepped her bounds if he was already shutting down.

But to her surprise, when he spoke up, he didn't refuse.

"We'll see," he finally said, and Sheik felt the tension leave his body. "I'm not saying yes, but… I'm not saying no."

It wasn't an outright rejection, but… it wasn't much better than one, either, if it gave him the chance to back out. Still, Sheik couldn't find it in her to be disappointed. If anything, she was just glad that he was considering it, even for a moment. "And when will you have an answer for me, if not now?"

Link half-tensed again—Sheik could feel it in his shoulders, just under her hand—but it was short lived. This time, he let it drop faster, and his entire body seemed to sag from its release. "Tonight," he said. "I need some time to prepare, and… figure out how to say it in a way that you'll understand."

Sheik gently moved the hand on his shoulder down his arm, until it rested just over his hand on the reins. "I won't hold you to it, if you decide you can't," she said. "But, Link?"

When he didn't reply, Sheik leaned closer and wrapped her free arm around his middle.

"I think you'll find that I understand plenty."

* * *

When night fell, Sheik was eager despite herself. Though she knew he may still back out, she was hoping against hope that he wouldn't. And as they set up camp and finished off the meager remnants of their dinner, she prepared herself for whatever answer he might give.

"…So," Sheik started, voice cautiously optimistic. "Have you prepared?"

Link didn't immediately meet her eyes. Sheik found that she knew it wasn't shame that propelled him to look at the ground, but distraction—uncertainty. She wasn't sure if she preferred it or not. "Not enough," he said, managing a terse smile. "But I'm not sure if I'll ever be more ready than this."

Sheik nodded, sipping from the melted snow-water they'd collected earlier. "If it's worth anything, I didn't hate you even when you told me the truth about… your power," she said. "I doubt I'll hate you for anything you might tell me tonight—since it has little to do with me."

A laugh—startled, and sweet, and clear—bubbled out of her partner. "It's not that I'm worried in you hating me," he said. "You hated me for the first few weeks we knew each other. I wouldn't like it, but I think I'd be able to go back to it if you had a good enough reason." He shook his head, sitting cross-legged against his sleeping roll. "I'm more worried that you'll be disappointed. That you'll stop seeing me as an equal."

Sheik arched a brow. "I have already heard the basics. An explanation of those things can only cast you in a more favorable light."

Though it didn't seem that Link believed her quite yet, he finally raised his eyes to meet hers. Sheik purposefully softened her expression, and it seemed to give Link the final push he needed to begin.

"Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "Alright. I'll tell you." He closed his breath, and in a tone as uncertain as his expression, finally began to tell his story.

"It started with my parents, and Ilia's family, in a small village not far from Ecchar.

"We were poor. Everyone was, back in Antem. Even if we were only a few miles from Ordon, and Ordon was known for making the Hero of Twilight, we… didn't share Ordon's luck." Link bit the inside of his cheek. "Ilia and I grew up together. It wasn't bad back when we were kids. We didn't know any different—we liked mud, and the sticks we pretended were swords, and playing in the springs, nevermind that they were pretty much swamp water, even if everyone claimed that they'd once been a holy spring.

"But when I was… six, I think, an illness came to the village. It wiped out almost everyone. I think—Ilia and I were one of the only survivors. Both of our families died—parents, siblings, everyone."

Sheik hated that her mind's first instinct was to ask if it was, perhaps, the springs that had spared them. Hated that her first question was to increase her knowledge, rather than show empathy. But though she could be insensitive at the best of times, she wisely held her tongue as Link shook off the memory of loss so great.

"We were sent to an orphanage in Ecchar. I'm sure you can imagine the quality," he said, forcing a bitter smile onto his face. "We stayed there for several years—until I was old enough to look after myself. It could only hold so many kids, so they couldn't waste resources on the older kids. And because Ilia had come with me, even though she was still young enough to stay, they… told me to take her and leave." He let out a deep breath, shaking his head as he tried to think back to that time. "I think I was twelve, when we left. I think she still resents me for… some of what I did, trying to keep her safe. Maybe even for not fighting to keep her at the orphanage longer, where it was safe. Even before all of this, with blonde, blue-eyed girls going missing… It wasn't the safest city. And she was so small—even smaller than I was. I couldn't let anything happen to her. So I looked for any work I could find."

Seeing Sheik's furrowed brows, he quickly clarified, "She did too, of course. She found some work on and off as a maid, but it never paid well. I knew I had to step up. But I didn't have any better luck than she did. Selling newspapers, cooking, cleaning—I tried everything, but it still didn't make ends meet. Ecchar was made to keep people poor, but we didn't have the means to go anywhere else. We couldn't just—it would have been impossible, just packing up and leaving to another city. Or so it seemed, anyways. Looking back, maybe if we had, none of this would have happened." He seemed to realize, even as he said it, that what-ifs would do him no good. So he braced himself and continued on. "I had to find something that would pay well. That could keep a roof over both our heads and food in the cupboards—no matter what that job was.

"At first, I…" He trailed off, suddenly hesitant. "It's not like I _tried_ to find Hilda. Or Ravio. Or any of them," Link said, voice getting a little faster, attempting to defend himself against Sheik's imaginary argument. " _I_ started thieving on my _own_ terms. Just little things, here and there—things we needed. I think I managed it for almost nine months. I didn't get caught until just shy of my thirteenth birthday, and most people can get away with their first time getting caught, but… I got caught by the wrong person. A man who sold a lot of really expensive food. I figured if I was going to steal I might as well steal from someone who was already well-off. But, he…"

Link bit his lip. "He caught me. Wanted to throw me in jail, and I couldn't even defend myself, because in Ecchar, either you had parents or friends, or someone well-established in the city to bail you out. If you didn't have those, you were on your own. And I only had Ilia, and no one wanted to listen to a twelve year old girl," he said. "But, I… I was lucky. Ravio was walking past, saw the whole thing. No one even had a clue that he was working with Lorule—no one even knew what Lorule even _was_ , back then. It only had a few members, and I'm not even sure it was called Lorule in those days. But he… I think he felt sorry for me. So, being someone who was pretty wealthy, he… he spoke up in my defense. Paid for what I'd stolen, and the extra, so I could keep it. And on the way home he offered me a job."

Link slipped into silence, head lowering. The regret was obvious in his features; though Sheik couldn't understand how he could regret meeting a man who had saved his life and offered him a job—no matter what had come later. "He sounds like he was a good man," Sheik said softly, seeing Link's posture. If she had it her way, she would have moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, but Sheik wasn't entirely sure if that would be appropriate. So she settled for watching him from afar, and giving what little encouragement she knew how to give.

Link nodded, but didn't raise his head. "He was," he said. "I was so, so lucky. I thought this was finally when things would start getting better. And I was right. For a little while, at least." He trailed off, crossing his arms over his knees. "You have to understand. Before Lorule turned into its… final form, and what it is today… It was good. It stole, yes, but only from the rich, and Hilda and Ravio only took a small portion. They gave back to the poor, to orphanages, to everyone who'd slipped through the cracks. To everyone like Ilia and me. It seemed like they were doing something _good_ —something that all Three would approve of. I… Believed in it," Link admitted. "I was _proud_ to be a part of it, when Ravio first explained what it was—what I'd be doing for them."

Sheik heard him starting to veer off course—starting to ramble in Lorule's defense—and asked, "What did they have you do?"

Link shook his head. "At first, I was one of the people who came into businesses and houses and figured out where other people could break in. Just small missions, because Ravio didn't want to risk my safety. Nothing too dangerous, nothing that I could get hurt doing. I guess I was a pretty cute kid once they made me look less like a street rat, so no one really suspected me." Link shook his head. "I should've known they wouldn't let that last. Once I started getting older, people trusted me a little less, and I was… promoted to an _actual_ thief."

As a thief herself, Sheik couldn't help her frown, hidden by her mask. Perhaps her heckles raised slightly at the thought of Link speaking ill of the career that had kept Sheik on her feet for so many years, but… she couldn't blame him for resenting Hilda. Not really. Not after what he'd been through.

Link continued, not having noticed the change in Sheik's expression. "Ravio wasn't a huge fan of the idea, but Hilda was determined. And I…" He hesitated only a moment. "More than anything in the world, I wanted to impress Hilda. I was fourteen and even if I still looked ten, I felt like I was… old enough. I… wanted her to be mine.

"I didn't care that Hilda was the most manipulative person I'd ever met. I just thought she was smart, and suave—and when she told me she believed I could do it, I listened. I thought I really had a chance with her. I didn't care that she was dating Ravio, or that Ravio was the only person who really cared about my safety—I didn't even care that Ilia was starting to get suspicious of where I was getting our food. I just wanted to make Hilda see me for who I was becoming."

Regret showed on his features, and Sheik was starting to truly understand what had gone wrong when Link had been working for her. She remembered young children who'd been taken advantage of, city to city—who had loved without shame, and had that love used against them.

It felt as though something heavy and sour had settled into her stomach. Yes, he was just another person, but… not to Sheik. She couldn't help her anger at the mere thought of someone manipulating _Link_ like that.

"I… Just wanted her to love me, I guess," he finally said, shaking his head. "I was fourteen and an idiot, yeah—but I should have been old enough to know better. I probably _was_ old enough to know better. I just… didn't want to _be_ better. For once in my life I thought there was something I could do— _really_ do—to prove that I was strong enough."

Link trailed off for a long while—long enough for Sheik to wonder if he was done talking for the night. Worried that he'd overdone it, or that he was having an adverse physical reaction to such an emotional retelling, Sheik finally stood.

Ignoring the way Link's eyes followed her, she sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

She was quiet for a while, not wanting to rush her partner. But she couldn't bear to see the shame on his face. And that, more than anything else, is what finally loosened her tongue. "I was a thief as soon as I was old enough to stop attracting pity," she said. "If you thought I would look down on you for taking the work you needed to survive and support Ilia with, you are sorely mistaken."

It said nothing of the complicated relationship Link had had with Hilda. But nevertheless, it seemed that just telling him that he had nothing to be ashamed of was plenty.

So, to her surprise, it worked. Link leaned his head against Sheik's shoulder, letting out a long sigh. Still, despite his more relaxed posture, he was quiet for a while before he finally managed a soft, "Thank you."

"You are my partner," Sheik said, shrugging the shoulder that Link wasn't leaned against. "And I wouldn't hold it against you even if you weren't."

"Is that the Sheikah in you speaking, or… the part of you that was a thief, yourself?"

"Neither." Sheik was surprised how calmly she could say it, and how much she meant it. "Occasionally, I can say things that are just… _mine_. Not Sheikah or anything else."

She swore she felt Link's heart skip a beat, but she didn't say anything about it, and he didn't, either. Instead, he reached for one of her hands, gently pulling it to his lips to press a familiar kiss against her knuckles.

Sheik was surprised at how much she'd missed the gesture. But for the first time in what felt like ever, she wouldn't let it go unreciprocated. She tilted her head to the side, pressing a soft, sweet kiss against the top of her partner's head.

"Are you ready to continue?" she asked, voice low. "If you want to tell me later, I would understand, but…"

"No, I can finish tonight. If I don't say it all tonight, I'm not sure I ever will," Link admitted. His eyes strayed to the fire in front of them, and almost seemed to be looking through it as he tried to find his place in the story once more. "She was the first person I ever loved like that, you know. Not my first crush, because I'd had plenty of those. But… she was the first person I was so… intent on impressing. The first person I really fell for." Link swallowed a lump in his throat. "She took advantage of that.

"In a matter of months, I was doing more and more dangerous jobs. Lorule had expanded, and instead of just stealing and redistributing money to the poor, we were hurting people for money. Not good people, of course—she hadn't lost her conscience that much. But criminals who'd gotten away with a crime? For the right price, we could still give them some punishment. It was fine, at first—I almost liked it, at first. It made me angry when the guilty got away with terrible crimes. And… Even though I wasn't the first… Lorulean to beat up someone for a profit, the first one I was assigned to? He'd hurt a little girl. All I could think of was what if that had been Ilia—and it was—it was _easy_. I didn't even have to think about it. I just had to remember that this person had hurt a child and no one had put him in jail for it. It felt better than anything, giving him the punishment that the courts should have given him.

"But Ravio?" Link asked, shaking his head. "Ravio knew things were going bad. He'd been there from the start. He knew Hilda better than anyone. So he tried to tell me to stop accepting those jobs. Tried to get me to stop training. He said anything he thought I'd listen to—but it didn't work, because Hilda… she knew I could do it." He closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a slow breath through his nose. "She gave me a sword, but not a shield, just to show me how capable she thought I was. Just to get me to stop listening to Ravio. She… flirted with me. Kissed me, even." Link hesitated. "I'm not sure how much Ravio knew about that. They were engaged, right before everything went wrong."

Sheik frowned despite herself. "And you… still did what she wanted?"

"I was barely fifteen when I—when I finally had to leave. I wasn't anywhere near old enough to know what she was doing was wrong. It took a lot for me to realize the truth." Before Sheik could even think to ask, Link took a deep breath and said, "She asked me to kill someone."

 _At fifteen?_

Sheik's mind went back to how hesitant Link had been to fight—to kill—in the first few weeks they'd known each other. How ill he'd seemed at the bloodshed at the warehouse in Marr.

"…Did you?" Sheik asked, trying not to sound as guilty as she felt.

Link shook his head. "No. At… a pretty heavy cost, though." He was quiet for a while, staring into the fire and forced his breaths to be steady and even. "I'm still not totally sure what happened that night. But the day before, he—Ravio tried to talk me out of it. I wasn't ready, and it was obvious—not because I was a bad swordsman, but because—out of everyone there, Ravio used to tell me that I was the only one who still had a soul. That night, he told me I'd lose it, if I… if I followed Hilda's orders.

"And you know?" Link closed his eyes. "…I'm pretty sure he was right."

Link seemed a few moments from a bad flashback, and Sheik pulled him a little closer. "Take your time," she said. "I have nowhere else to be tonight."

It felt like an eternity before he could continue again—and Sheik knew the moon had moved a great deal before Link broke the silence once more. But Sheik knew there were many things worse than her partner's steady breathing and the chill of the winter night.

"The man she wanted me to kill… He was a criminal," Link said. "He… He was with a group of friends that night. They'd been robbing the poor for years—bankers, I think. Hilda didn't tell me much about them. Didn't want to make them seem human, I think. And I thought—before I actually got there, that night, I actually thought I was ready. I thought I could do this, for her. That it would make her love me.

"But when I got there, with my sword, and daggers, and the dark cloak I was wearing—I couldn't do it. Every other agent of Hilda's moved into place, distracted the guy's friends. But when it was actually time to do it, I—I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him.

"Half an hour passed before the other agents realized I wasn't ever going to go through with it. I guess one of them left to go get Hilda. But the others… They betrayed me." Link bit the inside of his cheek. "They told the guy that I'd been sent there to kill him. Took away my sword and daggers, pretended like they were innocent and just exposing a criminal. The banker and his friends—they didn't care that I was barely fifteen, or what I said to defend myself. They wanted to make me pay for what I'd been planning to do. It was them against me, and I—I thought about what Ravio said, about losing my soul. And I was glad. I was glad to die, if it meant I wouldn't become like them. If it meant I'd never lie and take away a kid's only weapons and leave him for dead."

Sheik felt a lump rising in her throat, but she knew it was nothing to the tightness in Link's voice. So she stayed quiet, allowing him to continue, but not without another soft kiss to the top of his head.

"Hilda came. Broke up the fight. They'd got me bad, even without using weapons of their own—four on one kind of does that, especially when it's four grown men against a kid." He forced a laugh. "I thought, when Hilda got there, that I was saved. But she took my sword, held it over me like she was going to kill me." He gulped. "The rest, I don't remember too well.

"The next part, I think, you heard from Ravio. I blacked out, he got there in time to stop her from killing me. Left me a message saying she'd exiled me, said I was never allowed in Ecchar again." Link bit the inside of his cheek, hesitating. "…I think I still have the note somewhere. I… look over it, sometimes. When I don't know what to do." He shook his head, then continued, "After all that was over, Ravio took me to Solen and dropped me off at Telma's door with some money to fix me up."

"And here you are," Sheik said, fighting to keep her voice at its usual, almost businesslike quality, despite how conflicted she felt. It was hard to believe that her partner had gone through such a thing, but there was too much honesty in his voice. She tried to will down her wish that it wasn't the truth, but to no avail. It took another few moments, but when she was sure she wouldn't betray the weakness she felt in her heart, she finally managed a soft, "And… You stayed in Solen all that time?"

"Not… exactly." Link shook his head, no longer looking at her. Sheik could almost feel the tremors in his shoulder just waiting to start if she pushed him. "Just—I need another minute."

Sheik nodded, allowing him some time to calm himself. As the moon continued its path in the sky though, it became clear that the more time passed, the less likely Link was to continue at all. With a sigh, Sheik lightly squeezed her partner's shoulder, attempting to encourage him. If nothing else, it seemed to remind him where he was, and Link managed a grimace of a smile, the best he could manage at the moment.

Despite Sheik's encouragement, Link was quiet for a while. But when he spoke again, the guilt was palpable his voice. "I didn't go back to Ecchar even when Ilia was in danger," he said. "She wrote to me, telling me how bad Ecchar was getting. But I couldn't go back there." He looked across to the other side of the camp, eyes seeing but not _looking_. "I—I can't tell you how glad I was that you were the one to get her instead. I didn't want to lose her, but… I—" He broke off, shaking his head again. "But then we ended up going to Ecchar anyways, and I almost lost _you_ in those tunnels."

His voice was more brittle than she'd ever heard it before, and he broke off abruptly, voice still shaky when he finally continued. "That was why I took so long to get to you, Sheik. I—I couldn't take it. The last time I'd been in those tunnels, I was getting ready to murder someone. I was under Hilda's thumb. A pawn. And then _you_ wanted me to go back there." He squeezed his eyes shut. "You weren't just ready to kill, you asked _me_ to kill."

"Link…"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Link managed. "You didn't know. And you actually have a reason for it. There are hundreds of people counting on us—thousands, even, with all the cities we've saved. But I didn't know you then. I thought you were shaping up to be just like her. And I can't tell you how much that scared me."

"But you went in anyways," Sheik said. Though she'd never been the best at reassurances, there was something… _inspiring_ , knowing just how much her partner had gone up against, and that he was still willing to go in after her. "It's no wonder that Farore wanted you, Link. You went into the place that had nearly gotten you killed, to save all those—"

"It _did_ get me killed."

Sheik closed her mouth. Against her better judgment, she turned, looking intently at her partner. "…Can you repeat that?"

"I died, Sheik," Link said. "Telma told me, after all was said and done… She said I died on her bed, Sheik." When his partner stayed silent, Link shook his head, trying to explain. "I didn't have a pulse. But there was a glow on my hand and strange symbols going up my arms and chest and face, and the next thing she knows, I'm sitting up and breathing."

"You… were dead," Sheik said. "You died."

"Yeah." Link managed only a flicker of a wry smile. "But only temporarily."

Sheik swore in Sheikah, low and quiet. "Did you know you had the Triforce of Courage before that?"

Link shook his head. "I think—I talked about it with Telma for a long time, because she's the only other one who knows the full story—and I'm still not sure we got it totally right. But I think… I think Farore brought me back because I didn't want to kill that man. Because I was doing her job, as a protector of life. And because of that, she wouldn't let me die."

"Is that … what you meant, when you said you couldn't die?" Sheik asked carefully. "Just that Farore would bring you back?"

"Every other time, I've been saved long before that point," Link promised her, voice calm as if he was trying to reassure _her_ about his temporary death. As if he wasn't the one most affected. "But that was where it started. Where everything else started."

Sheik took a deep breath, trying to process it. "So Ravio brought you to Solen. And you died, and came back with the Triforce of Courage, right in front of Telma," she said slowly, trying to make sure she didn't miss anything. "What next?"

"I still needed work," Link said, voice a little stronger now, and Sheik hoped he was feeling better now that he didn't have to relive memories of Ecchar—though she was getting the feeling that his story was far from over. "And I was fine working for Telma for a while. But I always had to wear gloves to hide my mark, and I… I was starting to realize that it had some other powers. Powers I didn't expect."

The guilt in his voice alone made it clear what he was referring to. Sheik couldn't look at him, still conflicted over what he had told her.

But for the first time, she wondered if it might have had an equally negative effect on her partner.

"Once I realized that it manipulated circumstances, and manipulated people…" Link trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek until the right words came to his tongue. "There are a lot of friends I have in Solen—Friends that I… I'll never know if they care about me because of my own worth, or because my Triforce changed their mind about me. Even Telma. I…" He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I love her more than anything, and I don't even know if she actually likes me, or wanted to keep me around because my Triforce decided she was my best chance of staying alive.

"So I left. I needed some time away, and I figured some distance might tell me whether or not she still wanted me around. Maybe a little further away, it wouldn't have such an effect. So I went to Castle Town and wrote her, saying I'd still visit, and if she needed someone to work for her again, that I'd be more than happy to come back eventually." He bit his lip. "She wrote me back saying she'd always keep an extra room for me. So I—I hope that's genuine. And that it wasn't… just my Triforce. I don't know if it has a reach that far, and I might never know, but… I'm allowed to hope, right?

"Um. A- _Anyways_ ," he continued, seeming to change the topic before he could say anything else self-deprecating, "While I was in Castle Town, I figured I should meet with some Sheikahs, or the Royal Family—someone who could tell me a little more about my Triforce. I met Paz there, your—Impa's sister. She made it so that my Triforce mark would be invisible unless I was using it, which… was helpful, even if I'd long since gotten used to wearing gloves by that point.

"She also introduced me to the King." Link paused a moment, hesitating on his next words. "They… Paz made a prophecy in front of him. Said I'd be useful in finding his daughter."

Though old paranoia flared up, Sheik found that she wasn't nearly as worried about that statement as she ought to be. "How so?"

Link shrugged. "Paz could see the future, I think. Said something about how I was destined to find her, and that I… That my fate was tied to hers. Like I didn't already know that—every book in the library that had anything to say about Triforces told me that the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom are linked. That they've been linked for thousands of years."

"I see." Sheik bit the inside of her cheek. "And you are… looking forward to finding the new bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom?"

"Hard not to be with how much everyone talked about the Triforce bond—and Zelda, for that matter."

Sheik furrowed her brow.

"They all thought she'd been an amazing kid," he said, the tiniest of smiles working onto his face. "I think, when I finally do meet her, that I'll have enough embarrassing kid stories to last me for years. If she's anything like she was when she was young, anyways. Which… considering how long she's been alone, I doubt."

"Even just going to live with Impa, she changed greatly from who she had been at the Castle," Sheik said, avoiding eye-contact. "I doubt she would be anything like the girl from the Castle if you met her now."

"Yeah," Link said quietly. But there was nothing sad in his tone—not even the tiniest hint of disappointment. Instead, he smiled, just a bit. "She probably wouldn't be." Seeming to remember that he had been in the middle of telling Sheik a story, he shook his head and tried to pick up where he left off. "I worked for the castle as a guard for a few months," he continued. "Getting trained by the best. I learned how to use a sword again—and learned a bit about really _using_ a shield, though it's still hard to remember to use both. Then the King sent me back out to find his daughter, mostly because of my Triforce and the connection Paz mentioned. I spend most of my time looking in Solen, because every time I left, I felt like I was being drawn back there. And I figured I shouldn't ignore that feeling.

"I guess that feeling was right, though. Because I met _you_ in Solen." Though Sheik knew Link could feel how tense she got, Link barely hesitated. "And then you came with me, and we've been looking for Zelda ever since—and doing a lot of good for all of Hyrule. I still can't really picture myself as the new Hero of Hyrule, but… if I'm going to be doing this with anyone?" he asked, looking up at her with the faintest hint of a smile. "I'm… glad it's with you."

Sheik blamed the warmth in her cheeks on the fire. "I'm grateful to have had the opportunity," she said, bowing her head so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I don't think I could have done it without you."

Link was quiet a moment, before finally shaking his head. "No," he said. "I bet you would have found a way, with or without me."

"I would never have known about the tunnels under Ecchar if not for you," Sheik reminded him. "Those girls would have been shipped off to wherever they were headed for, and I would have been powerless to stop it. And if I'd been too discouraged to continue on, then—"

"Knowing you? You would've found Hilda, somehow—taken her on the second you found her. Or maybe you would've just focused on finding the compound and razed it once you found it," Link said, a bemused smile on his face. "Don't sell yourself short on my account. You've managed just fine on your own for how many years?"

Sheik frowned, biting the inside of her lower lip as she thought it over. "It's different," she said, all too serious compared to the contentment her partner had slipped into. "Just looking after yourself takes less work. You've always looked out for Ilia—I've never… had that system. Either I had someone looking after me, or I was on my own. There was never accountability before this."

"Yeah, and where are you now?" Link said, voice infuriatingly optimistic. "You've freed dozens of people, Sheik. Broken spells on entire cities, with and without me."

"More with than without," she said. "And back at Tal…"

"And you think those girls wouldn't have carried you, for what you did for them?" He raised a brow, and Sheik resisted the urge to walk away and find something less stubborn. "Although," he finally said, tone changing to something almost teasing. "You might have frozen to death a few times without me."

Sheik rolled her eyes. "Reducing yourself to a body heater is hardly a fair comparison."

"If you're not going to acknowledge what you've done, then I'm going to." Link looked up at her, amusement settling into something softer. Sheik looked away before she could acknowledge it as love, but all too soon, a hand was cupping her cheek. "Even if I have to make a few unfair comparisons."

Though she could feel Link attempting to shift closer, Sheik didn't move towards him. Instead, she rested her hand over the top of his, fingers resting in-between the gaps between her partner's. "You might not be the only reason I succeeded," Sheik finally said, ignoring the knowing grin she as sure was spreading over Link's face. "But…"

Link leaned a fraction of an inch closer. "But?"

"If I've become _anything_ of a hero, it's your doing."

"Sheik…" Link leaned further away. Though Sheik knew she'd said the wrong thing—or rather, something Link hadn't been expecting—it was the truth, and she didn't regret it, even if it caused him to pull back. "I'm not—"

" _You_ are the standard I held myself to," she said, voice softening, easing away from the rough edge it so often carried. "That was why I was angry when you told me about your Triforce." Link's hand twitched against her cheek, fingers curling as if to pull away, and Sheik let him. But when his hand moved away from her face, she kept it in her own, shifting their hands to rest on Link's knee, her hand still over the top of his. "And that's why I was so surprised to hear anything of your history. I thought that you'd gone against that standard—that you'd never been a hero, and that I'd misjudged you. But, Link?"

He didn't look at her, and Sheik decided that was acceptable, for now.

"After hearing everything? I think… I think I was right before." Her face turned to a knowing smile, shaking her head with the slightest bemusement. "If there's any… 'standard of heroism' I'm going to hold myself to, I'm glad it's yours."

Sheik didn't have to look at Link's face to know that she'd surprised him. But when she leaned closer to press her lips against his cheek, she couldn't help grinning at how warm his skin was.

"Goodnight, Link," she said, not leaving him a moment to question her behavior before she stood and started walking back to her sleeping mat. "And… Thank you," she added, as she laid down on it. "I'm glad you told me."

Link's voice was soft and strange when he answered her. "Yeah, well," he started. "…What are partners for?"

As Sheik got comfortable and prepared to sleep, though, she hesitated. Though she hadn't heard Link move from the place he was seated, and she was sure he had plenty on his mind, she couldn't help but think about what he'd said.

"You were right about one thing, you know," Sheik said, voice purposefully serious as she looked at Link's silhouette against the fire. When her partner just furrowed his brows, Sheik kept her deadpan expression. "You make a good heater."

It took Link a moment, but Sheik relished the moment her words sunk in. It may have been dark, but there was no missing the way Link's eyes lit up at her words—or the newfound determination in his smile (subtle as it was). He crossed the distance between them without hesitation, sitting down on the edge of the sleeping mat.

Despite how much Sheik wanted to just pull him back into bed before he could change his mind, she let him take his time. For once, she was content to just watch, propping herself up on her elbow as Link made himself comfortable.

Though she wasn't sure precisely what she was feeling, she felt warmth spread through her chest as he finally pulled his feet free from his boots and tucked them inside the blanket. From there, he tucked himself alongside her, his shorter, stockier build easily molding against hers. Though Sheik knew she couldn't pull him close the way she used to, she was just glad to have him as near as he was.

"And you're sure you want this?" Link said, the slightest tinge of hesitation in his voice.

Sheik draped an arm loosely over his side. "I wouldn't have asked, if I wasn't," she said. "Sleep, Link. I'll be here in the morning."

Though Sheik had been in bed first, it was Link that fell asleep first. His breath was soft—deep, even, and steady—and Sheik realized too late just how much she'd missed it.

Her body itched to press tighter against him. But she resisted, no matter how cold it was—and no matter how much she craved to hold his chest as it rose and fell.

For the first time, Sheik felt her heart speed at the notion.

And that, she decided, was enough for now.

It might not have been the most romantic first night back together, but Sheik was grateful for it all the same. No matter the awkwardness, no matter the distance between them, Sheik was glad to be here.

Link might have been worried that telling Sheik his history would change how she saw him, but Sheik couldn't have been happier. Now, more than ever before, she knew that staying was the right choice. So she respected the space between them for now, but there was a warmth spreading through her chest at the notion of it disappearing in time.

She fell asleep shortly after Link, wholly unaware of the hand that had drifted up to rest on his hip.

* * *

The morning that followed was a dreary one. The wind was cold, and clouds hung over the sky, heavy with rain.

Despite that, Sheik found herself warmer than she had been in days. Through the night—inevitably—she and her partner had drifted close to each other once more. Link was, as usual, still sleeping peacefully, and Sheik was hesitant to wake him.

Instead, she found herself tuning into the sound of his heartbeat, and the way the rising sun peeked occasionally peeked through the clouds to give Hyrule Field a pink tinge.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that she allowed herself to wake Link, lightly jostling his shoulder until he let out a sleepy groan.

"There are only a few hours of travel left until we reach Kakariko," she said softly, willing the anxiety away. "We need to leave now if we want any time to investigate it while it's light out."

Link turned towards her and cracked open an eye. He seemed surprised to find that it was already past dawn. With furrowed brows, he sat up and adjusted his tunic and undershirt so his neck and chest weren't exposed to the chilly morning air. "It's already late. Did you just wake up?" he asked, sounding almost hopeful.

Sheik felt her cheeks warm, just a little. "A bit ago," she said. At the way Link's brows raised, she quickly added, "The sunrise was distracting."

Though he didn't look like he believed her at all, Link merely smiled. "I see." He stood up and toed on his boots first thing, then offered a hand to Sheik.

Sheik ignored it in favor of slipping on her own shoes and outerwear. With a quick cleaning spell on herself (and Link, despite the other's squawk of surprise), Sheik got to work on packing up camp.

She went slower than usual, however, and found herself hesitating as they reached the end of re-packing. It wasn't until she'd been standing behind Epona for nearly two minutes that she heard Link approach behind her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, and she could hear the frown in his voice.

Sheik shook her head. "We'll be in Kakariko by the end of the day." She rested her palm against Epona's flank, as if to ground herself. "I don't know how much hope I have of finding anything. But I can't stand the thought if it being a pointless trip, either."

Link rested a hand on her shoulder. "It won't be," he said. And he said it with conviction enough that Sheik believed it, almost on instinct. "No matter what, we'll find something to work with."

"Or we'll find nothing," Sheik said. "Ravio told us that everything was gone."

"And sometimes it's the nothing that tells us things," Link said. "We'll find something to lead us to answers, Sheik, I guarantee it."

Sheik closed her eyes. "I can't hold you to your word," she said, shaking her head. "Not when you know just as little about it as I do."

"Less," Link said, a half-hearted attempt at humor. "You were the one that lived there, not me."

Not exactly reassured, Sheik let out a long sigh. "I just… Wish we had more to go off of. That there was more of a chance of saving Kakariko."

"Sheik." Link gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, and Sheik felt warm lips against the back of her head. Though she froze up, she didn't pull away, and Link took the incentive to wrap his other arm around her waist. "It's going to be fine. We're going to figure this out. No matter what."

"And you're sure?"

"Well. I can't promise results, exactly." He laughed a little, sounding almost embarrassed. "But I know that I'll be here with you no matter what we do."

Sheik finally let her shoulders drop from the tense position they'd been in. Though she couldn't be quite sure what she was doing, she let out a deep breath and made her decision. She carefully moved Link's hands off of her. Before he could second-guess himself, though, she turned to face him.

"Last night wasn't a fluke," she said, looking down to meet his eyes. "I'll be here with you, too."

With that, she cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss just above his brow.

While Link was still dazed at the display of affection, Sheik hopped onto Epona. Though she knew she couldn't possibly ignore the problems they'd be facing in a matter of hours, there was no one she'd rather face them with than her partner.

* * *

When the pair arrived at Kakariko the next day, Sheik wished she could say she'd been prepared. But the sight of it—or, rather, the sight of the bare dirt where Kakariko should have been—was enough to unsettle even Sheik.

She was off Epona before they even stopped.

"Sheik!" Link called, but Sheik paid him no mind. Sheik ran towards the dirt—towards the foundation of the last place she had truly been able to call home. When she approached, it was obvious that there was no mirage. It wasn't a trick, or a cruel illusion of a master spellsman. The city was truly gone, and all its inhabitants with it.

Her feet seemed heavy as she walked through the city, no matter how fast she tried to run. Everywhere she looked, there were phantom images of the city she had once known—but none of the homes and none of the people were truly _there_.

If she looked to her left, she could swear she saw the baker and his wife, and the smell of fresh bread, and the joyful shouts of their children. But when she looked, there was nothing. It was the same for the shop that sold flowers—and the entrance to the graveyard—and the small farm that had sold cuccoos and their eggs for generations upon generations.

There was nothing left.

There weren't even imprints of the city that had once been. No shadows, no darker or lighter values of the dirt to differentiate home from pavement. There wasn't even magical energy to show what had been removed and what hadn't.

It was totally, completely barren.

Though she had a heart to explore the rest of the city, she didn't have the stomach for it. Not when she finally came to the place that she had spent the happiest days of her childhood.

Sheik's feet, acting on muscle memory she didn't realize she still had, retraced the once-familiar path from the meadows to Impa's house.

And, when it only led her to a barren, insignificant tract of land, Sheik sank to her knees.

It took several minutes more, but now that she'd finally stopped moving, Link finally caught up to her.

"Sheik?"

"It's gone," she said, voice hollow. "Kakariko. The graves. The Sheikah temple. Impa's home. The… the garden out back. All of it. Gone."

Link rested his hand on her shoulder. Almost unconsciously, Sheik moved her hand to rest atop his, seeking out any comfort that he offered. "It'll be alright," he said, voice soft. "I promise. We'll find a way to bring it back."

They sat in silence for what must have been an hour. Sheik couldn't find it in her to move, but she was grateful Link stayed with her. There were no clues to be found, though, no matter how long they stayed in the city. No inhabitants, no buildings, no indication that magic had even touched this place, if not for the sign at the outskirts of the city.

Kakariko was truly gone.

And there was nothing they could do about it. Not right now. Not with no leads, and no known enemy.

A lump rose in Sheik's throat from the sheer hopelessness— _helplessness_ —of it all. For the first time in years, she felt the urge to cry, and it nearly overpowered her. But, as always, she repressed it. Expression hardening, she—already on her knees—pressed both hands to the ground and closed her eyes.

Ignoring the confused expression on Link's face, she leaned close to the ground and performed an old Sheikah prayer over it. Though she may not have been born a Sheikah, she was raised one, and she had the magic of the Sheikah flowing through her veins. She could, hopefully, perform the rites as well as any other Sheikah who had lived here.

It was a prayer of mourning, and of loss—and of the hope of reconnecting, someday, in a better world, or a better future.

Though it was prayer often spoken at funerals, Sheik felt it appropriate. Especially since she had no way of knowing if any of its inhabitants were still alive.

Once she'd finished saying the Sheikah prayer, she stood. Though she was tentative about changing anything about this place, she knew that she needed something to work with. So she carefully got out a jar from her side-pocket and scooped it full of dirt.

Though it had been a long time since she'd been in this place, she knew that this had once been her room. And, if the foundation was gone without a trace, then the ground beneath her feet must have been touched by magic and replenished somehow.

If she could get it to the right person—a Sheikah strong in tracing other magic, perhaps—then maybe they could figure out what, exactly, had happened to her home.

"We can't stay here," she finally said, corking the jar and putting it back in her side pocket. "There's no point to it."

Link gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "And where would you go from here?" he asked quietly. "Back to Solen?"

Sheik closed her eyes and considered her options.

Though she had lived with Impa, there were only a handful of other Sheikahs she had known while she stayed in Kakariko—and no way of knowing if they had been in Kakariko when it was taken. There were a few that she had seen—at a glance—while she had traveled in her youth, but none had seemed strong in magic. If anything, most had likely been half-bloods. Ones that could, perhaps, use some Sheikah magic because they had one Sheikah parent and therefore half of the Sheikah magic (and blood) running through their veins—but were not as powerful as full-bloods.

There was a question in her, somewhere, wondering at the nature of half-bloods. But there was no time to probe deeper than the very surface of that question. Besides—a half-blood couldn't help her with a problem of this caliber.

No. If she was going to solve this mystery, she needed a full blooded Sheikah. And someone with access to other information— _lots_ of information.

And there was only one place in all of Hyrule that had enough libraries and ancient texts to give her an answer. –And, remembering Link's story, and about how he'd come to Castle Town… There was only one person who could, presumably, relate those answers to solving Kakariko's disappearance.

With a fire burning just behind her eyes, she looked up to Link.

"We're going to Hyrule Castle Town," Sheik finally said. It took some effort, but she ignored the churning in her stomach even as she said the words. "We're going to meet Paz."

Link looked surprised, but he didn't protest. "And you're sure you want to?" he asked softly. "I'd understand if you wanted to stay back."

Sheik shook her head. "Someone stole my home and didn't leave so much as a trace," she said, and suddenly she wasn't entirely sure she was speaking just of Kakariko. But it wouldn't do to dwell on her old life; not when there was a job to get done. So she raised her head higher, squaring her shoulders as she headed back to Epona. "There will be a reckoning, and I _will_ _not_ let someone else take that from me. If I have to go to Castle Town and face every evil living there, I'm going to do it."

In solidarity for the home that had just been destroyed, Sheik used her magic to change her face. Not much, of course—she didn't want to clue in Link to just how easy it was to disguise her appearance at all times. But she allowed the old, red, Sheikah eye-markings to surround her eyes, and the ancient tear-drop to appear under her left one.

Link looked a bit surprised, but Sheik said nothing of it. Instead, she gave one final look to Kakariko, and then turned towards Epona, never once looking back.

She would fix this, no matter the cost. If it took every secret she had, every bit of magic in her blood, she would bring Kakariko back.

And no one was going to stand in her way.

* * *

 **((Sorry for disappearing again! I did promise on my blog to have this chapter up by the end of the year, and so it is! Hopefully this upcoming semester I'll have more time to write, but I won't make any promises that I can't keep. I'm still not abandoning this story—I promise. It just takes time to make every chapter. I hope everyone likes Link's full backstory, and that it wasn't a let-down. Anyhow, after this, we can finally move away from just character development chapters and move towards** _ **plot**_ **. There's going to be a lot of that coming up in the next several chapters, so don't be afraid to ask questions in reviews if you need help figuring something out. (Though I'll try to make everything as clear-cut as possible.)**

 **Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time. It's been an honor writing this much, and I plan on staying in this for the long-haul. I'm also doing a lot better mentally and emotionally, and I thank all of you for your support through all this. I couldn't have asked for better readers.**

 **As always, please review if you liked this chapter, or even if you didn't. I always look forward to hearing your thoughts! 3))**


	27. Chapter 27

**Yes, this is a full year later. I can't say how sorry I am, that I made you all wait this long. But this chapter is up, and hopefully the next chapter won't take quite so long.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that no one's totally forgotten the plot.**

 **Happy reading, and if you've been frustrated waiting for secrets to come out, I hope you won't be disappointed with this chapter.**

* * *

For all that Link hadn't argued Sheik's decision, he hadn't outright supported it, either. It wasn't until they'd been riding for a few hours that Link finally put his hand on her upper arm and asked what had likely been on his mind all afternoon.

"Sheik," he said, and Sheik clenched her jaw, unsure whether or not to ignore him. But he paid her silence no mind, pressing on after a few seconds of silence. "You… You know that the castle's been taken over, don't you?"

Sheik was quiet for a moment, staring flatly ahead. "Yes," she said, though it had (admittedly) been the last thing on her mind. "We'll find a way around that."

Link's hand gripped her arm a little tighter. "It's _dangerous_."

"And what do you call the last several weeks?" Sheik asked. "One of the first nights we spent as partners, we were robbed of our horse. Just after that, you almost _died_ in Oxon, and I in Marr." She hardened her gaze. "And I don't think I need to remind you that we were practically on a _suicide_ mission with Ashei and Shad."

"It's dangerous in a different way," Link said carefully. "Paz and the King sent me to find Zelda, remember?"

Sheik frowned, not that Link could see it. "I remember."

"And you remember how I said she could see the future, and that my fate was tied to Zelda's?"

"Her abilities are part of why we're going to Castle Town, _yes_ ," Sheik said, trying not to grit her teeth.

"She told me that the next time I went to Castle Town, I either would have found the King's Daughter, or that Zelda would be gone forever."

Sheik narrowed her eyes, forcing herself not to tense up. "And you trust her at her word?"

Though Link hesitated, she knew from his tone that he was being truthful. "I do." He shook his head, obviously trying to find the words to say what he felt. "She wants to find the princess as much as anyone," he said, voice slow and careful. "I don't think Paz would be happy if I returned without her."

"King's Daughter," Sheik corrected him. Realizing how callous she may sound, correcting him on terms when Zelda's fate hung in the balance, she hesitated a moment, thinking it over. "I think," she started carefully, "That there are many who need to come to terms with the possibility that Zelda…"

"Might be dead, or so far from Hyrule that she will never return," Link finished. "I know." He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I've never been one for prophecies, though. I believe her, because I've never heard anyone else who has the talent she has for telling the future, and her knowledge of magic—but I don't know if I want to believe her. Not with this."

Sheik pursed her lips. Though she wanted to ask him what he meant, she knew her tone might be defensive if she wasn't careful. After all, she was Zelda—emphasis on _was_. Once, practically in another life, she might have been—

But then, she supposed that was the truth of the prophecy.

It didn't need to have an 'or'—it might as well have been an 'and.' The King's Daughter was returning to the Castle (however briefly), and Zelda was gone forever.

Zelda was a name she never wanted to hear again. There was no argument in her head about that—of all the things she could overthink till she was dizzy, this was not one of them. She was tired of _that name_ being her identity, tired of being tied to that title, that castle, that family.

But she couldn't tell her partner that.

And, though she had her suspicions about him knowing the truth already, she couldn't risk telling him, just in case. No matter how much she was beginning to want to.

So she looked up and to the sky, considering her words carefully.

"The question is what you value most," Sheik said slowly. "Only finding Zelda? Or finding the inhabitants of Kakariko?"

"But if we wait and find Zelda _first_ ," Link said, "Then we might have a chance to save both."

"I don't want to say this, Link, but there are more people at risk than just Zelda. It's unfair to leave the rest of the world on hold just to find one person— _one person who obviously doesn't want to be found_." She gave him a long look, taking note of the guilt and sadness on his face. She could only guess at what he was feeling—did he think he'd failed, if he couldn't find her? Though making him upset was the last thing Sheik wanted, there was little else she could do right then. "We've made it our responsibility to Hyrule to save everyone who we can. We can hope and pray that Zelda is one of those people, but maybe it's for the best that we can't find her."

Link looked half stricken just by the suggestion. But after a moment, a different expression settled onto his face, and he shook his head. "For the best?" he asked. "Sheik, she must be out there somewhere. Otherwise the Triforce would have found a new owner by now! Did I not mention that last night?"

Sheik blinked at him. "…What?"

"The _Triforce of Wisdom_. If Zelda's dead, then it will have moved on to someone else. That's why we either need to find Zelda ourselves, or find proof that she's dead, or so far out of reach that the King's enemies will never find her." At Sheik's confusion, Link frowned. "She's not just important because she's royalty, Sheik."

"No, I know that," Sheik said quickly, already wondering if she could use this to her advantage. "But, you said that the Triforce… would have found another owner?"

"In the case of Zelda's death. Yes." Link furrowed his brows. "Why do you ask?"

Sheik hesitated.

She nearly said, 'Because I have it,' but the words died in her throat.

This was something she could use, for her charade. She could do something with it; twist it into a lie, explain away her powers and be more open about the things she could do.

It would be a _useful_ thing to tell him. And, it was all the more reason to stop looking for Zelda—all the more reason to let Sheik get on with her life and stop being tied to a past that she no longer wished for. It was a way to solve all of her problems at once.

And yet—

It wouldn't be a lie, but somehow, she was sure it would be worse than one. Because it _was_ the truth—but she would be using it to deceive him even further.

And yet, the longer she waited, the more suspicious she may seem.

A little voice in the back of her head told her to speak, and Sheik let out a sigh before she finally managed it. "We can be on the lookout for the Triforce of Wisdom as well, then," she said. "I hope for Zelda's sake that we don't find it—but, if we do, we can take it as proof that she's dead, and move our efforts elsewhere."

Link looked somewhat mollified, nodding at her suggestion—though it didn't stop the hurt in his eyes at the thought of Zelda being dead. Or, at least, that was what Sheik _hoped_ the hurt was for. "That's… that's what I was thinking, as well. Especially since that's what the man at the castle is looking for."

Sheik's heckles rose in an instant.

"The man at the castle?"

Though her insistence and interest on the new subject was sudden, to say the least, she was grateful for the opportunity to get away from a subject as dangerous as _Zelda_.

Even the opportunity to escape her least favorite topic wasn't enough to keep her from cringing at the thought of an invader to her once home. Even just for the sake of all of Hyrule, she felt an irrational swell of anger for this man.

"There's not a lot that's known." Link frowned a little, seeming hesitant to speak. He quirked his lips to the side, brows furrowing till a crease formed between them. "I've told you that he has the Triforce of Power, and that he's seeking the other Triforce Pieces. That means that I have to avoid him—and I have to make sure he doesn't find the Triforce of Wisdom."

Sheik pursed her lips. She supposed they hadn't had much of a chance to really compare what they knew; for her to get an inside look at the castle, now that she knew he'd been there for as long as he had, and knew a bit more about how and why he'd lived there.

"What else do you know about him?"

"That he's taken over the castle. Swayed the king to do his bidding," Link said. "I haven't had a real update since I left, but last I heard, the man at the castle was using the King's family as leverage over him."

"Leverage for _what_ , exactly?"

Link pursed his lips. "Sending the troops into the desert, for one."

Sheik stared.

"The desert," she repeated. How could she have forgotten? One of the first signs that something was wrong in Hyrule. But a sign that she'd ignored for the better part of this journey. To be fair, she'd been rather distracted, with everything else going on around her. But faintly she remembered it, pulling at the back of her mind. The last real heist she pulled, the soldiers didn't bother trying to catch her because they were on their way to the desert. "You didn't think to discuss this with me before."

"I didn't."

"You didn't _think_ ," she repeated, pursing her lips. "You didn't think to do it, or you didn't think it was important enough to share with me?"

Link's brows raised. "Back when I believed you were a servant of the King on the search for his daughter, I thought you already knew. It wasn't until just now that I realized you might not know."

"No, I did know," Sheik said. "I saw them, on my way to…"

She paused, considering telling him exactly what she'd been doing before she met him, but thought better of it.

"The point is, I saw them," she continued. "And I never got to the bottom of why they'd be going to the desert. Do you know why they're being sent there?"

"I have a few guesses." Link rubbed the back of his neck. "But nothing concrete. After all, the missing girls are all over Hyrule. If the soldiers are being sent to the desert, then isn't there a good chance that the soldiers are there so they can't interfere or stop any of the trafficking?"

"Yes," Sheik said, then hesitated, suddenly. "But I don't think that's all there is to it."

Link gave her a long look. "What else would there be?"

"The girls. There have to be more than them, or else we would have found them or bodies by now. Every place we go, there's only a few dozen at most, isn't there? Hyrule's population has far more women of that age than just who we've found."

"Well. No offense, but if the King's under the control of someone else, it's not like the soldiers are being sent to the desert because the missing girls are there. He's just a puppet now."

Sheik hummed as she mulled it over. "I think we need to do some investigating at the castle."

"Yeah. That we do." Link gently held her upper arm for a moment, seeming stuck on something. But after a weighty silence, he finally pressed a kiss against her shoulder and said, "You know I'll stick with you in there," he said softly. "But don't go looking for trouble, please. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's dangerous."

The worst of it was that she knew it was true. "Thank you," Sheik said. "But whether we like it or not, trouble seems to find us."

Link's hesitant laughter was somehow more reassuring than condemning. She held onto it as they continued to ride forward.

* * *

The pair of them rode for a while, as Hyrule proper stretched out in the distance. Sheik could see the castle even now, looming and dark, though she supposed the darkness had more to do with the rainclouds gathering overhead than with her own feelings.

She found herself holding Link's waist tighter.

"Do you have a plan in mind?" he asked. "Because if you don't, we can always stop for a few days, or… redirect our efforts to something else in the meanwhile."

Sheik pursed her lips. "I'm coming to find answers about Kakariko, and help the people that were lost there. It's possible they evacuated to the city."

"Sheik…"

And she knew that tone. Knew that they would have seen footprints leading back from Kakariko, if there had been even a reasonable number of escapees. She stayed silent, even as Link sighed.

"Sheik," he repeated, after a beat of silence. "This is dangerous. You _know_ it's dangerous."

"You've said as much." Sheik let out a sigh through her nose. "Are you _still_ worried about the prophecy?"

And that must have been it, because Link went absolutely silent.

A few drops of rain splashed onto their heads and onto the world around them. Sheik looked straight up at the sky, finding those dark clouds coming closer and closer still.

Far in the distance—right where they were headed—a sheet of rain came down. It would likely swell the Great Hyrule River to an overflow, and muddy the whole region. She couldn't bring herself to care. She rested her cheek to his shoulder, a soft sigh leaving her lips as she focused a protective spell around them. It'd take too much energy to leave it up for long, but she'd prefer to stay dry for now.

Link let out a hum as thanks, but didn't mention it directly. Just as he was silent on the prophecy, he seemed silent on everything else. Unwilling to start a new topic until this was wrought out.

Sheik hesitated only a moment more. Even as she said it, she regretted it, but she couldn't help wanting to know the answer. "…Would it be so bad, if the prophecy came true?"

Despite her soft tone, Link's entire body tensed. Lightning struck, miles and miles away, and Sheik felt her heart sink along with the land it must have struck.

"I don't know," he finally said, throat hoarse. "It's been my duty to find her, Sheik. I can't turn my back on her after so long. The thought of leaving her as she is…"

"You have no idea how she is."

Link gripped the reins tighter. "You sound so _sure_ of that." And Sheik's heart skipped a beat, even as her chest was to his back. She wondered if he'd felt it; if he'd call her on it. But instead, he asked, "Why are you so sure she's better off alone?"

Sheik parted her lips, trying as hard as she could to say what Link needed to hear—what Sheik needed to say. But in the time it took for her throat to make even a sound, she could tell Link had given up hope of an answer.

The thunder rolled again a few minutes later, and it seemed to signal that her time was up.

"Forget it," Link said, swallowing down the need in his voice. "I was out of line asking."

He stopped the horse, then, seeming to want to wait out the storm. He stopped beside their mount, simply resting his hand against the dark flank.

Sheik dismounted as well, biting her lip as she watched him. It had been a while since she'd seen him this uncertain—this quiet and brooding, choosing to only touch the horse instead.

And she couldn't blame him.

For all that Sheik wanted to agree, to tell him that he was asking too much of her too quickly, that she just needed more time—she couldn't find it in her to agree. Because he wasn't out of line. He was perhaps the only person that had shown interest in either Sheik or Zelda in the last several years, but it wasn't a bad thing that he had. It wasn't a bad thing that he was concerned; that he was being a good person and trying to honor the commitment he'd made to the king, if that was truly all he was trying to say. So she couldn't tell him that he had stepped out of his place.

But she couldn't say anything else, either.

Instead, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and she hated that spark of hope that flickered in his eyes even now, as he slowly turned towards her. She shook her head, trying to say what she couldn't find the words for.

Link seemed to understand. And yet, though there was something like _relief_ that danced around with that flicker of hope, he wasn't smiling. There was no immediate trust that she'd follow through—and why should there be, Sheik thought. She'd lied to him about her identity since they'd first met.

But she couldn't tell him, 'I am Zelda.'

They weren't _true_ anymore. Maybe in the biological sense, sure—maybe even in the sense that the king still saw her as his daughter, no matter what Impa had led her to believe.

But in every portion of her soul, in every way that mattered, she wasn't Zelda.

Maybe she had the dedication of Zeldas of old—maybe she even had some of their strengths, some of their magic, some of their uses for the Triforce of Wisdom. But she wasn't proper, or regal, or interested in the legal matters that came with running a kingdom. Much as she cared about her people—much as she was there for them in the ways that actually mattered—she wasn't their princess. And even taking into account the roles of Zeldas of old—she wasn't a _prophetess_. She wasn't a final resort for Hyrule, or a vessel to keep the land safe until the Hero was ready to take on Hyrule. She wasn't a _seal_ for the darkness.

She was _Sheik_.

She was everything that the Zelda from the Hero of Time's era had been, before she revealed her old form and immediately lost the freedom she had held for those seven years, the freedom she'd used to fight evil and help her people.

Sheik would not make the same mistake.

But she wouldn't lie to Link, either.

She moved her hand down to his upper arm, tightening around the soft green, rain-dampened cloth beneath her gloves, and the subtle strength just below it.

She could do this, for him. She _would_. She had to, if it was the only way to keep him.

So she took a breath, and looked deeper into his eyes.

"I was Zelda," she finally said, throat catching on the words. "She was who I used to be. I… shouldn't have lied to you for so long."

Link didn't say a word. He simply stared at her.

Sheik continued, a hint of desperation in her voice. "I don't know what you want me to say, Link. I was scared, and I didn't want you to take me to the Castle. I'm still scared you'll tell someone. But, I… —I should have told you sooner."

Link's forehead wrinkled, and his lips parted. But, to her surprise, there wasn't a note of surprise on his face at all. If anything, it was disappointment.

And for that, Sheik felt her heart lurch, because how could he look at her as if he was disappointed when she had told him the secret she'd held closest to her chest for a decade?

He hadn't found out and confronted her. She had _told_ him. That had to count for something.

And yet, that look remained.

To add insult to her injured pride, he had the audacity to sound hurt when he said, "That wasn't… what I had hoped you'd say."

Sheik pulled her hand from his arm, dropping it to her side as both hands tightened into fists. Quick to anger as ever, she wanted to shout from the frustration of it. From the feeling of being led to make such a confession, only to have it be minimized, shortchanged by the man she'd finally trusted with _everything_.

And yet, she couldn't find the heat behind it.

To tell him, and have him treat it like it was nothing—to treat the _secrets she'd kept_ like nothing—it felt as though he'd taken a part of her away.

The emptiness took even the light of anger in her eyes, and so she turned her eyes away from him. They tinted blue, the red pointless now that she'd already told him—even if that confession had evidently been pointless, as well.

Her throat tightened.

It was easier to feel anger than numbness, so she latched onto the feeling she'd felt for those few moments, letting her Sheikah gloves tighten around her knuckles. Let him be disappointed then, she thought. Let him feel whatever he needed to feel. But he would be getting no sympathy from Sheik.

Link seemed to realize what he'd done, though, and took a step towards her immediately. "Sheik, wait, that's not what I—"

"Do you realize what I told you?" Sheik's jaw clenched, if only from the force of putting on anger. And yet, she couldn't look at him "—What I _risked_ by telling you?!"

Link's expression softened. "Of course I realize," he said, reaching out a hand to grasp her wrist. "But I—I wished you weren't still scared. That's why I feel like this." His expression turned pained, and he lifted her hand up to his chest.

She felt it beat steadily beneath her hand.

Sheik couldn't find anything to say.

But when she remained silent, Link bit the inside of his cheek, and hesitantly moved her hand off of his chest. "And… that's…. still not… It wasn't what I was asking you to tell me, Sheik. Why would I ask you to tell me something I already know?"

And, with that—that admission of _guilt_ —Sheik froze.

Because she'd had an inkling for days, if not weeks. But to hear him say it, and to sound so blasé about it—Sheik felt like she might be sick. "For how long?" she managed. "How long, Link?"

There was a beat of silence, before Link turned away. He ran a hand through his hair, looking almost remorseful for saying anything. "A while," he finally said. "I was suspicious after you talked about knowing Zelda. It was just… too convenient. But after Ise…"

"You saw my eyes, when I was hurt." It was something she'd feared from the time it had happened, and onwards. If there was any time that he might have found out, it would have been then.

But Link only shook his head.

"No. Or at least, not _just_ that. I… Uh, I saw the Triforce of Wisdom."

Sheik stared at the back of her left hand, feeling oddly betrayed, though she knew the symbol must have been what saved her life. Link took her hand in his, letting his thumb obscure the space that the light would shine from, even through her gloves.

"It saved you, I think. I don't know how," he said, before she could protest the contact. "You did your damndest to get yourself killed, but it was like… it _sealed_ you. Like the stories of old. It kept you alive until I brought you somewhere you could be healed."

"And you didn't…" Sheik pursed her lips, voice faltering. "You didn't think to mention it?"

"I was a little caught up with realizing I'd almost gotten you killed. That my Triforce, that it had… that it had put you in danger." His jaw flexed. "Even though you had the Triforce of _Wisdom_ … I was scared to death that the Triforce of Courage still had the power to take away your rationality."

Sheik felt a flare of anger, and nearly blamed it on the memory of his subterfuge. Nearly. But further down, she knew it had nothing to do with a fight that had now long been lain to rest.

That Link would hide the fact that he _knew_ , …that was even less forgivable than any life-endangering truth he'd neglected to tell her. He should have told her. He should have let her know that there was no point in hiding anymore.

He should have told her that he loved her anyways, even after knowing.

Sheik's stomach flipped.

"We've talked about that," she said, forcing herself to stay calm. It wouldn't do to fight again; not after everything that was coming to light. She didn't think she could take it, if he abandoned her now. "Besides. It… It makes more sense that way, doesn't it?"

Link furrowed his brows at her.

"The Triforce of Wisdom… it's always been used to aid the Hero." And she almost sounded resentful; almost _felt_ resentful. "It exists to serve the hero. Even if the Triforce of Courage has an effect on me, it's to keep you safe. And, if I'm the one bearing it… The princess's only usefulness is to guide the one who can defeat those that threaten the balance in the land." Seeing the lingering confusion in his eyes, Sheik breathed a sigh through her nose. "The Triforce of Wisdom only cares about me to an end that serves _you_. The hero. Even at the cost of my sense."

His expression didn't change—but Sheik became aware of just how puzzled he looked. Good, she thought. Let him think on that—let him believe this was why she was angry, and the only reason. It was easier to pin her anger on the idea that her destiny wasn't her own to control.

This way, it was easier to ignore her hurt at his reaction to her identity. The fact that he hadn't told her, and had let her go on feeling alone.

He should know by now just how much control meant to her, and how much _he_ meant to her. Perhaps it'd be a good enough explanation that he wouldn't press.

Link took a step forward, then reached for her hand. Gently, and without asking—Sheik nearly bared her teeth at the intrusion—he peeled off her left glove, and then his own. He closed his eyes, and a moment later, his Triforce lit up—causing hers to light up, too, from the proximity and power it radiated.

"The heroes have always been at the _princess's_ disposal, Sheik. Especially in lives where they knew each other before a great disaster." He took her left hand in his, then brought it to his lips. "It's why Farore had to be able to bring heroes of old back from the dead. The hero has always been the pawn. Past heroes… We've all been willing to die for you."

Sheik eyed him warily—she couldn't remember the last time she'd had this suspicious of a reaction to his affection. And yet, she didn't know how to go back to trusting him blindly.

It didn't seem to matter, though. Link kept talking.

"But past heroes didn't get to have you as a _partner_ —with one exception, obviously. I'm lucky, Sheik. So lucky to have you with me. Because it's not—" He stopped short, choosing his words carefully. "What we're doing together, to save Hyrule? It's not about that anymore—not about roles and limitations and magic. Not for me, anyways. You can dwell on it if you want to, but that's not what _I_ feel."

Sheik stared at him, at the words just under the surface. But instead of delving deeper, Link just gave her hand a soft squeeze.

"It's not about who's doing the sacrificing, or who's suffering more because of the evil in the land. Because you're not trapped in a castle somewhere, and I'm not all alone, trekking over Hyrule and hoping my quest doesn't kill me. Maybe that was the story for a lot of past Triforce holders—but it isn't _us_."

Sheik swallowed, heat rising to her face. Not even from embarrassment at hearing such a provocative speech—but from how much thought Link was putting into this. How much he was willing to say for her benefit. To put her insecurities at ease.

She didn't deserve this.

She didn't deserve _him_.

And yet, here he was.

She swallowed, and finally risked a look at him, deeper into his eyes. The rain kept falling around them, hitting her shield and bouncing off. Lightning and thunder flashed in the distance, but Sheik was undeterred.

She took a step forward, trying to show that she could compromise. That she could be here for him, too, and not just as a shield from the rain. She took a breath, then, "If it isn't us, then what are we?"

Link closed the distance between them. He took her left hand—the Triforce of Wisdom—in his right, then wrapped his other arm around her waist. "Exactly what Hyrule needs us to be," he said. Then, with an expression somewhere between bittersweet and admiration, he added, "And past that, whatever we want to be."

Sheik didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around his back, and pulled him into an embrace.

They stood like that for a while, and it took her a moment to even realize that her shield had come down in her distraction. Even then, she didn't try to put it back up. It wasn't a kiss, but she felt closer to him—more like herself—than she had in all the moments they'd been together.

It wasn't until the both of them were soaked that she finally pulled away. Sheik wrung the water from her long braid, something uncertain in her voice. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I appreciate you being here for me."

"Nowhere else I'd be."

Link went on his toes, and Sheik leaned down enough to meet him. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then pulled away as Sheik gently cupped the warmth he'd left behind.

He still had not reacted the way she'd hoped, or feared, about her identity.

But he hadn't rejected her.

This was enough for now. Too much, almost, and all at once, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it.

But it was exactly what she needed. So she reached for his hand, then led him back to their shared mount. "Let's keep moving," she finally said. "We can make it to Castle Town by nightfall."

And, just as always, he followed.

* * *

The gates of Castle Town were bigger than Sheik remembered. She wondered if they had been replaced at some point, though perhaps they only looked so big in reflection. Because the last time she'd seen them, she was about a third of her current height, and young, and scared.

She still felt scared.

But when her pulse skipped a beat, Link took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. And the castle gates looked a fraction smaller; less impossible.

"We can still leave," he said, as if he hadn't offered a dozen times already. "There's still time."

"Not for the people of Kakariko. Or the Zora, or Gorons."

"But there is for us. For you."

Link met her gaze, but Sheik shook her head.

"Two people aren't enough to sacrifice Hyrule for."

She took a breath, then crossed the threshold, and into the city she'd abandoned, just as much as it had abandoned her. To enter this city as a stranger, when she'd once been its princess—she wasn't sure how to feel. For a moment, she thought she'd feel a swell of magic, and of either longing or loathing.

Instead, she felt almost disappointingly numb.

Link was the only presence around her that felt like it mattered; the people she passed were fleeting, and she found she couldn't focus on any of their faces. Or perhaps she didn't want to. The idea that she may have known some of these people may have been the ones that coddled her as a child, that had seemed to love her once upon a time… She didn't want to dwell on what had changed.

However, as they continued further into the city, Sheik felt increasingly claustrophobic. Not from the city itself, but from the swell of people going to and from in the streets.

Link seemed to share her concerns, because after they had to wait for a dense crowd to pass before filtering through the slightly sparser crowd, and still knocking shoulders with every fifth person, he pulled her into an alleyway.

"It wasn't half this crowded when I left," he said, lips setting into a deep frown. "I don't know how we're going to get into the castle when there's people everywhere."

Sheik let out a hum of agreement. The temptation to run away with him was a bit stronger, now; but one look at the castle and she remembered exactly why she was there. She swore she even saw a Sheikah—a real Sheikah—hiding in the doorway.

"No one's been going back to the cities whose curses we broke," she said. "Everything we've done, for nothing."

"Well, what have we been doing to let people know they can go home? Telling people to spread the word doesn't actually encourage people to go home. There's been little to no proof that their cities are actually safe to return to."

Sheik pursed her lips.

"Besides," Link added. "If a huge wall of flame went around my city, like with Oxon, I probably wouldn't want to go home either."

…He had a point. Not that she'd admit it. Instead, she just gave a distracted nod, and started plotting a course for how to best get into the castle. But no matter how she conceived of it, no matter how they might manage to sneak beneath the castle's tunnels, or no matter how they'd find a way up to the castle wall, that's where her plans ended.

"We could get someone to spread the word here, since so many refugees have relocated," she finally said, distracted. Then, abruptly, "Do you think I should change back into a Sheikah and get into the castle that way?"

Link stiffened immediately. "No."

Sheik eyed him. "Because Sheikahs have been trapped in the castle?"

He nodded. "That's why I was so surprised the first time I saw you, because I hadn't seen a Sheikah able to escape the castle after I got a letter from the King explaining the urgency of finding. Er. Of finding Zelda."

Sheik appreciated him not blabbing her biology to the whole of Castle Town. No matter how crowded and loud it was, the chances were too great that someone might hear them.

And they couldn't risk anyone knowing who she was or why she was here. Hence the disguise.

She smoothed faux brown hair back, still unable to adjust to looking like an ordinary Hylian. Though she'd never admit it, she looked more like the last bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom—dark hair, pale skin, and eyes like the sea. As keeping a different face was difficult for long stretches of time, she just hoped no one would recognize the similarities between herself and those murals—and the similarity to the King.

"Are there still servants?" she asked. "Still maintenance workers in the sewers under the castle?"

Link bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm not actually sure," he admitted. "It's been months since I left. And from the looks of it…"

"Right." Sheik sighed. "We'll find a way in. We're already too deep to back out now."

"Not exactly…" Link gently nudged her. "We could still…"

"Enough."

She strained hard to remember something, anything, that might give them an advantage. But her mind turned up blank.

"Let's keep walking," she said, frowning at the nagging feeling at the back of her mind. "If you see something you recognize, let me know. And I… I'll try to do the same."

Link frowned, holding her hand a little tighter. "You remember this place?"

"A bit. It looked bigger, when I was here last." She managed the tiniest of smiles. "I nearly got lost in all the skirts when I was little. I can't imagine kids coming through here now, with so many people…"

"They'll find their homes again soon."

"Not before we're through here," Sheik said. "I only left the castle grounds a few times, in all my childhood. He… never showed it, but I suppose he wasn't able to brag about his bastard daughter."

"Sheik.."

"Not now." She avoided eye-contact, knowing that it had been improper to even allude to her childhood here. There were too many eyes. Too many people who could eavesdrop. "Later, if you must. But not now."

Link didn't look happy, when she finally spared a glance at him. But he nodded. "Later," he confirmed. "One thing at a time, right?"

Sheik managed only a stiff upturn of her lips, and decided it was a smile. Then, she fell into silence, focusing on finding a path. Something, anything, that could show them the way.

But before she knew it, she felt more decisive in her turns, and found herself leading Link forward, with something like a destination in mind. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she had somewhere she needed to be, somewhere she remembered that could help her.

She kept sneaking glances at the back of her left hand. But it didn't shine.

 _Memories_ , she realized after the fifth turn, as they came onto an older, almost decrepit part of town. _These were memories_. She'd been here before.

And eventually, her path paid off. She stood in front of a store that didn't quite look right—bright colors had faded; the shop name had been long since removed—and felt a sense of longing, and familiarity. _This_. This was where she needed to go.

When it looked as though no one was watching them, she pulled Link inside and shut the door behind them. Now that she was inside, a quick look around told her that this was once a _flower_ shop, but had been abandoned for years.

The inside felt even more familiar, and she knew that just beyond the abandoned store management quarters was something that could help them.

"Follow me." At Link's baffled look, Sheik smiled a bit more genuinely than before. "It's been nearly fifteen years, but I think I remember how to walk from here to the castle."

Link's expression turned from baffled to wary, but he didn't resist.

So Sheik led him into the back of the shop, then looked up at the wall for the symbol of the Sheikah eye she knew was waiting for her. The way her _father_ taught her to look for, when she was scarce old enough to remember.

But the importance he'd stressed on her… She could never forget the stern way he spoke, that day.

It was so strange, compared to how he'd spoken to her every time before. The love and care she'd purged from her memories, because it was less painful to think that he'd never wanted her, than to think he'd cast her aside as soon as he remarried and had the prospect of a legitimate heir.

She put it aside even now, unable or unwilling to focus on the pain she felt at childhood memories come back to life.

And so, after fifteen years, she remembered only on how he'd guided her thumb to the center of the symbol; how he'd made her press into the stylized iris.

" _Just like that, Zelda," the King had said. "Good girl. Now, you'll remember this, won't you? If you ever get lost in the city, you'll remember how to get back into the castle, without anyone in the city noticing you?"_

" _Azaela's Flowers," Zelda had repeated, more serious than usual, herself. "I can ask someone in town where the shop is and say I'm picking it up for my mommy."_

" _You don't need to give them a story, love. You just need to get here safely, without anyone noticing you. And then just follow the path inside the entrance."_

 _Because, just as he said it, the doorway opened. It had been dusty even then, with the flower shop owner working just a few feet away, past the wall. And when it opened, it revealed a long path where she couldn't see the end to. It was dark, and it was full of strange imagery and torches, that her five-year-old mind hadn't been able to comprehend._

 _But her father had told her that it was safe, and so Zelda believed him._

She wasn't sure if she believed him, as Sheik.

But the doorway still worked, as she pressed the iris. It was still dusty, especially with no one working in the actual store. They likely wouldn't have long before someone noticed them inside, so Sheik led Link inside, then shut the hidden door behind them.

It sealed with a thud. Then, without further prompting, Sheikah torches lit up all through the pathway.

"I never actually took this path before," Sheik said with a frown. "So I don't know where it lets out. But… I think it may be our best option."

"I think we might not have a choice, either. I don't know if we can get out the way we came in."

Sheik turned around to look at the door, and found no evidence at how it opened from the way. "Yeah," she finally said. "Decision made, then."

And with that, Link took a few steps forward, leading the way and keeping a hand on his sword. Though Sheik wasn't sure how necessary it was before they faced any evidence of enemies… She supposed it was their best option.

Without any mention of it beforehand—as she didn't like the idea of asking Link permission to change her appearance—she reverted back to blonde hair, and faded Sheikah warrior's clothes.

Sheik wasn't about to enter the castle looking like Zelda, her old self or a previous life.

For good measure, she drew her weapon, too, and followed behind her partner down the steep stairs, then through the long trek to the castle.

* * *

The closest thing they got to an entrance was another closed wall.

Link waited, braced for a fight. But Sheikah closed her eyes and pressed her ear against the door, wondering where they would come out within the castle—because there was no doubt that they had arrived, with the trek they'd had.

She heard only running water.

"The kitchen, or the baths, are the only places I remember in the castle that had running water," she said with a frown, stepping back. "Do you recognize the sound of it?"

Link looked a bit put out to have to back down from a fighting pose. But he nonetheless tried, and rested his shorter ear against the door. "Running water," he said. "You never really visited the servants' quarters as a kid, did you?"

Sheik frowned.

"That's not a bad thing! Really. You have some good guesses, but… I have a hunch we're further down in the castle. The trip back, we didn't go up as many stairs as we went down. Maybe not the bath hall, but the servants' chamber rooms and bathing quarters."

"And the servants' quarters are on the lowest floor," Sheik said, the truth dawning on her. "I see. Was this place relatively safe last time you were here?"

"All the guards like to stay further up in the castle, but even when I was there, there were a few guards that kept an eye on servants."

Sheik pursed her lips. "It wasn't like that when I was here."

"Yeah, well. It's been a while since then. And you lived here without the man pulling the King's strings. Who knows what it's like here now?"

To escape the reality that the castle was truly as different as she feared, Sheik focused all her attention at finding the hidden door switch.

-Which, really, didn't do much to avoid the inevitable, as she'd see it for herself soon enough. The crest of the royal family appeared on the inside of the door, and she gently traced her hand over it. When he fingertips brushed a tiny divot in the door, she realized it was shaped like a Triforce. She frowned, then pressed the one that matched the symbol on her hand—the lower left triangle.

Immediately, the torches behind them were extinguished, and the door lifted from the floor to the ceiling.

She and Link exchanged a glance, then Link took a step forward into the castle.

Sheik changed her form back to that of a Hylian peasant, and followed after him.

As it turned out, they were deep within the servants' quarters, and the sound of running water was a mixture of the sewer beneath them, and the baths being heated and warmed just beyond them. Before they could even exit the hole in the wall they'd come from, though, someone came into the room.

Sheik grabbed Link's hand, then encased them both in an invisible field.

She also instinctively kept her hand over his mouth, which she wasn't sure he appreciated, but it was too late to change their positions in the tiny space they shared.

The intruder turned out to be a castle servant. Her hair was silver, but it didn't quite match her youth. She wasn't stooped over or limping, but the weight of the day seemed to wear on her nonetheless. The stains on her uniform seemed to say the same.

Link frowned.

He removed Sheik's hand from his mouth, then silently traced the Sheikah symbol into her palm. Sheik furrowed her brows, but it didn't take long to realize what he meant—and worse, that he was right.

The servant was a Sheikah.

At first glance, it wasn't such a terrible thought, but the Sheikah had been protection for the royal family for centuries, if not millennium. For any Sheikah to be reduced to a servant who would even step _foot_ into the deepest levels of the castle… It was almost unimaginable.

Though, with how they had been missing, Sheik was grateful they were still alive, and not killed off for their connection to the Royal Family.

The servant turned the wheel in the heavy boiler room, presumably to adjust the water temperature nearby. After the work was done—and a test to the boiler proved that it was hot—she heaved a sigh and stepped back. Sheik and Link both held their breath, thinking that they had gotten away with their deception.

But before she walked away, the woman turned and looked directly at the pair's hiding place.

"You know as well as I that using Sheikah magic is forbidden in the castle," the woman said. "But I shant tell if you won't." Despite her words, she leaned against the doorway, blocking the only other entrance and exit to the tiny room. "But may I have the pleasure of knowing who is brave enough to keep up the practice when magic has been forbidden for months?"

Link and Sheik exchanged a glance.

But finally, Link nodded and put a hand on Sheik's arm. After a moment of lingering hesitation, Sheik lowered the barrier, and stepped forward with an appearance more-so resembling the woman's.

"I don't recognize you," the woman said. She frowned. "To my knowledge… not a single one of us managed to escape. Are you a halfbreed from the outside?"

"Yes," Sheik said. "I… wanted to come and see if my father still worked at the castle. I have been worried about him."

The woman tilted her head to the side, then her face dawned with recognition. Not for Sheik—and Sheik tried not to look as relieved as she felt—but for Link. "Sir Knight?"

Link stepped forward. "I apologize for the intrusion, Lady Amaya" he said, and knelt before her, pressing his wrist against his heart, hand clenched in a loose fist. "I've come a long way. I wanted to report to the King about the status of his daughter."

The woman, Lady Amaya, looked between them with something like suspicion. "Is she…?"

"I am Sheik," Sheik said, and realized for the first time just how odd the choice of name it was. "I apologize for the deception. We… do not, as of yet, know the status of the castle. Or who we could trust."

Amaya managed a wry smile. "I wish I could tell you. Some of us remain loyal to the crown, of course, but… others have bent their knee and given their strength to that… _barbarian_ , from the desert."

Link and Sheik shared a long, troubled look. "The desert?"

Because this, this was information that could change everything they knew about the soldiers going into the desert. Was the King sending his forces to the desert to repel the invader's strength? …Or, was the invader seizing these forces for his own, and crafting his own army?

"Yes. There have been no settlements in it for a thousand years… but Lord Ganondorf insists it's his homeland. I forget how long you've been gone, Sir Link. He's made it common knowledge that he means to rebuild his homeland."

Sheik's teeth clicked from how quickly her mouth snapped shut.

Link took a note of it, and continued to direct the conversation. "What exactly do you know about his plans for this… rebuilding effort?"

"That it requires a great deal of resources, and that Lord Ganondorf will do anything it takes to get the King to give him whatever he needs for it."

Link frowned. "Is the Royal Family in danger?"

"Yes. But no Sheikah has gotten close enough to know the specifics, Sir Link." Amaya bowed her head, then pressed her wrist to her chest, hand loosely in a fist. "Forgive me. I must return to my post—I've been gone too long already. But if you want to get past the guards up ahead, continue through the servants' quarters. Ganondorf has insisted that the Sheikah join the ranks of the servants, and that all who aren't… necessary, stay out of sight."

 _Of course_ he would ask such a thing, Sheik thought. His and his people's conflict with the Sheikah aged back millennium. He'd never allow them to be honored the way they deserved.

"Thank you, Lady Amaya," Link said. "Be safe."

"You as well, Sir Link—and you as well, Sheik. Though I don't recommend using your magic anywhere near Lord Ganondorf. He is… perceptive, of such things."

With that, the woman exited the room, then started at a run back from where she came—presumably to make up for the time she had lost talking with them. Once she was gone, Sheik let her disguise drop.

"I don't know what to do," she said, running a hand back through her hair. "I wish we had asked where he would be, so we could avoid him. I don't know what face to put on to avoid being caught here."

"And I'll be recognizable, too. He may not know my face, but I'm sure someone would have described me to him."

Sheik sat against the musty, concrete floor. "We need a plan. Even at Ise, we had something, even if everything went wrong once we were inside. But I… I don't even know what we're doing. I know we wanted to find Paz, and find out what happened to Kakariko, if we could. But… beyond that…"

"It's not to late to turn back," Link said, looking at the door. Now that it was closed, he saw the Sheikah symbol on the outside. "…I trust Lady Amaya at her word, but I don't know how we're going to get anywhere if this place is as highly protected as she says."

Link sat down next to her, then, and reached for her hand. Sheik held it in return, absently pulling it to her lips to press a kiss to his gloved knuckles.

"We've figured this out so far."

Sheik breathed a sigh through her nose. "Yes," she said. "But… I… I think I'd been planning on storming the throne room and demanding an answer. Not all of this subterfuge."

Link raised a brow. "I didn't realize you were capable of that kind of… outburst."

"Quiet, you." Sheik let go of his hand, directing her gaze upwards. But just as she was trying to plan, her Triforce activated in the back of her hand. She had no sense of what it meant, and so she stared at it, furrowing her brows. It took a moment to get the sensation of a map. But when she did, she realized it was acting as a compass. "I suppose we'll just have to follow its course."

She took off her gloves and wrappings, just staring at the dim glow on the lower left triangle. And, just as she was starting to wonder if it would work or not, she got an image of Ganondorf in the throne room.

She also had an innate feeling that the library was two levels above them, on the far west half of the castle.

"But my father…" she said aloud, wanting a vision of him to also avoid. If she could keep away from him, then there would be no one here who might recognize her as easily as he would.

Yet, the Triforce gave her no notion of him.

Instead, she only felt drawn to the library again, with a pulling sensation guiding her to that space two floors above them.

Nothing more than that, nothing less. Only a sensation that she was supposed to be _there_. She wished, deeply, that it was as clear as it had been in Ise. But no matter how she searched, nothing worked.

"Apparently," Sheik said, biting her cheek to suppress the irritation she felt at the course being planned for her. "…We are to go to the library. Of all places, that is were we are to be."

"Well, we did want to gather information." Link pressed his ear to the wall, listening for anyone nearby, then gave a thumbs up for them to start moving.

Sheik sighed and started to move, her Triforce leading her in the general direction she needed to go. "Yes, but I was hoping to ask Paz."

"Well, you never know where she is," Link said. "Maybe there's someone there we should see—or is the library where Lord Ganondorf…?"

"He's in the throne room," Sheik said with a grimace. "I'm not surprised, if he's the one calling the shots. I don't know if he's just inside it, or if he's the one with the audacity to actually sit on the throne."

Link grimaced. "Wish I could give you an answer for sure. But considering all the things he's changed around here…"

"Right. Well." Sheik shook her head and continued on, using the brightness of the Triforce to point her in the right direction. "…We'll follow my Triforce for now," she said, and it was obvious just how much she didn't like the idea. "I'm not sure how well I'll be able to restrain myself from attacking guards, but. For now, we follow the Triforce."

Link followed behind her, and let go of her hand so they could walk in a single file. "We'll figure it out," he said. "My luck and your… _wisdom_ should go pretty far."

"I'll pretend that wasn't a joke."

Following Amaya's advice and every hunch she had, Sheik managed to get them to the second floor. There were more guards here, as Sheikahs seemed busy walking to and fro, and guards were posted to keep them from stepping out of line or escaping.

Sheik pretended to be of their ranks in the spaces that they couldn't hide, and Link took advantage of her invisibility.

It took about an hour of sneaking around and going between hiding spots, and listening to Sheik's Triforce and its warnings.

In the end, they finally entered the library through the servants' entrance. But once they were inside, Sheik's Triforce went totally silent. Any warning they might have had turned off, and it wasn't clear if they were safe, or just wholly on their own.

So Sheik stepped forward quietly, knowing they were bound to be caught if they just lingered in the doorway. Link followed her, hand in hers as she decided whether or not to use invisibility on him. After a moment's indecision, she decided to leave him uncloaked, and they headed towards the rows upon rows of books.

However, as they went deeper into the library, Sheik realized that many of the bookcases further out were empty. Several were half-filled, with boxes nearby. She couldn't tell if the books were being removed from the shelves, or slowly being put back on them. But with Ganondorf in the castle, she had a feeling it was the former.

It boiled her blood to think of so much knowledge being taken out of the castle. But there was nothing she could do about it right that minute—so she bided her time.

She counted her blessings with the Three that the library was empty. For what purpose, she didn't know—but she wouldn't argue her good luck.

"Look for… for something that looks important," Sheik finally said, and let go of his hand to scour the books for herself. She doubted it was as free and unfiltered as Ise's library, but perhaps there may still be something useful here.

After a few minutes of searching, she found a section that seemed to be historical texts. Or at least, it had once. At the moment, all the texts were in boxes—including a book on the Gerudo, sitting near the top of the box.

Sheik picked it up, feeling grateful for such a rare find.

But as she held it, her Triforce felt stronger passing beside other books. She frowned, then watched as it lit up while passing over a book with a faded cover.

With a frown, she grabbed it and opened it, trying to decipher the old writing.

Though it was difficult to read from the old dialect and the faded text, she finally found a few words that made everything clear. It was a book about the magical properties of the Sheikah, with quite a bit of Sheikah history mixed in with it. Though she wasn't sure exactly why she was expected to read this when Impa had taught her so much about Sheikah history… she didn't argue. Instead, she just kept it with the book on the Gerudo she'd found, then kept searching.

Even as she started grabbing books that were useful, though, she felt frustrated beyond belief that her trip to the castle had ended up so lackluster. That she and Link had been led to the library, when she'd come here for answers on Kakariko.

But perhaps these were all the answers she and Link were strong enough to get. It was a depressing notion, but she knew in her heart that they weren't ready for any major confrontation with Ganondorf himself—especially after only just realizing he was the true enemy here.

She needed to know more about him. And more about herself and her own powers, evidently, if the Triforce-ordained book on Sheikah magic was to be believed.

Still.

She had wanted—even prayed for—the ability to _do something_.

So when she took a step backwards and backed straight into a solid body, her irritation manifested immediately.

"Link, I told you to search over there," she said, shoving idly at him with one hand, as the others cradled her finds. "I've found a few books here, but nothing on Kakariko. Go look until you find something."

"Is that why you're stealing from the Royal Library?"

Sheik turned in an instant, eyes wide as she stared at the taller, older Sheikah.

"I'm not a thief," Sheik said, before she could even think of saying anything else. "I—I was sent up here, by—"

"Lady Paz?"

For a moment, Sheik thought it was Link's way of saving her, and not incriminating Lady Amaya. But then, she turned to look at him, and he was too awestruck for it to have been a save. There was only one other explanation, and she watched as the recognition dawned on Paz's face—and Link's.

"Sir Link," Paz said, breathless. "I thought you'd never return."

"Lady Paz." Link dropped to one knee, wrist against his heart. "I—I haven't returned with Zelda. But this is Sheik."

The woman glanced between them. And slowly, a smile stretched across her face. "Yes, dear, I know exactly who she is," she said. Before Sheik had time to feel anxious about that statement, she turned and slowly started for the door, hobbling ever so slightly. "Come, come, I'll take us where we won't be overheard. Be a dear and bring those books along with, I've a feeling they'll be important."

Sheik stared at Link. And for a moment, she didn't want to trust this lady. But there wasn't much she could do, after being found out.

Link saw the worry in her eyes, and he shook his head with a smile, before grabbing her free hand. "Can't leave Paz waiting," he said. Then, quieter, "Come on, Sheik. Just… Trust me."

There wasn't much she could say to that. So Sheik took a breath, tried to drown out the white noise in her mind, and followed along with. She could only hope that Paz would have all the answers she hoped for.

* * *

 **Thank you for sticking around for so long!**

 **If you liked this fic, or you didn't, please leave a review to let me know what you think! I read the reviews so frequently over the past year it's not even funny… I know a lot of you gave up on this being updated, but, well, here we are.**


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